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Monday, June 25, 2012

Harvest Monday - June 25, 2012

Well, it was strawberries again this week.  We are getting about twice as many as we did last year, primarily, I suspect, because we added more plants.  However, these plants are also producing larger berries, which is great!



Other than that, not much.  Random herbs and hot peppers, but that's about it.  Waiting with bated breath for our tomatoes - growing bigger every day!



I made a dessert with some delicious in-season cherries that I wanted to share.  I would have loved to use strawberries, but we didn't get quite enough.

I made a cherry galette.  A galette is essentially a sort of free-form pie or tart and can be made either sweet or savory.  This one is a bit like a fresh cherry pie and makes me wish we had a cherry tree!

Fresh Cherry Galette


Ingredients
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
3 - 7 tablespoons ice cold water
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 1/2 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary). {I like to use butter for my galette crust as I think it adds a delicate and lovely flavor.  It does make the dough a bit more difficult to handle though.  You can substitute the same amount of shortening if you don't want to use butter.}

3. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the butter to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

4. Roll pastry, using floured rolling pin, into a rough circle, approximately 12 1/2-inch. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, stirring with a whisk. Sprinkle cornstarch mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border.

5. Combine the cherries, remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, rind, and juice; toss well to coat. Arrange cherry mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold dough border over cherries, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover cherries). Brush edges of dough with buttermilk. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over cherries and edges of dough.





6. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until dough is browned and juices are bubbly. Remove from oven; cool on pan at least 20 minutes before serving.



Delicious!  The galette looks and sounds fancy, but with its free-form shape, it's ridiculously easy.  This is another one of those desserts that can be made with just about any fruit you have on hand.


So, back to our harvest this week.


Total Harvest for the Week: 9.4 ounces
Total Harvest for the Year: 26 pounds, 7.4 ounces

 I'm thinking this will be a strawberry week again. Maybe enough to make a strawberry galette this time?

 Linked up with Daphne's Dandelions Harvest Monday... hop on over and see what else is being picked this week.

Zentmrs
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7 comments:

  1. I always am glad to grow big strawberries--less labor;)

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  2. yum that looks incredible! i could go for a slice right now! haha

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  3. I love cherries, and always wish I could have a cherry tree. Unfortunately, they are relatively hard to grow in this part of the world.

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  4. I'm with you on the tomatoes, we can't wait. Some of my early plantings are starting to size up, but our main crop is just now starting to flower.

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  5. oooh berries and cherries, just what I live for! That looks like a great dessert but I don't want to turn on an oven!

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  6. Strawberries look good and that cherry galette looks and sounds heavenly.

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  7. I'm starting to get frustrated at my tomatoes. They won't turn color but are getting so big.
    It's hard to get sick of strawberries, they are so good.

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