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Desserts

Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Maine Maple Apple Pie

So while we are gearing up for Independence Day here in the United States, it’s Canada Day today (July 1st) I’m celebrating with this lovely Maple Apple Pie. It is more autumn-ish than summer-ish, but apples are around year round. Remember to use a firmer apple (pink lady, honey crisp, or if nothing else is available, a granny smith) and avoid ones that get mushy (mackintoshes are a big no no for baking). Also, I used maple extract in addition to the maple syrup, to amp up the flavor some. In full disclosure, the maple syrup didn’t come from Canada… it’s from Maine (New Englander that I am!)
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1. July 2015
Desserts

Strawberry Charlotte

I went strawberry picking yesterday; ended up with about 42 pounds of berries, so they’ll be a lot of strawberry recipes coming up. The thing with picking your own strawberries at the farm is that they are so fresh and unadulterated that you actually have to process them within a day or so. That means lots of jams, pie fillings and such. And this Charlotte cake. They are pretty to look at, but yes, a bit of a pain to cut as the second that you take off the ribbon, the lady fingers could fall off. Of well; still tastes great.
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28. June 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Caramelized Peach and Cranberry Tart

Cranberries. So many people just associate cranberries with Thanksgiving and Christmas, but they really are a nice addition to almost any season. Take this tart. It’s loaded with peaches, that are just beginning to show up in the shops (though not locally; these are from Georgia. Local ones won’t be for a few months yet). The peaches as very sweet, and of course I added brown sugar to caramelize them. The cranberries, which I had in my freezer from last fall (you can find frozen cranberries in the shops all year though) add a nice “cut” to the sweetness. And even thought they are “fall like”, the flowers as a lattice does make this a summery pie. Yum.
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15. June 2015
Desserts

Honey Balsamic Blueberry Pie

Another weekend, another pie. In fact, I think that this is the third weekend out of five that I have made some variation on the theme. But I like blueberry pie, and so do a lot of my friends, and this one is again for a grilling dinner. I’ll probably be switching to strawberries here soon, anyway (but then back to blueberries when my favorite kind — Maine Wild Blueberries — are ripe later in the summer. In the meantime, here is this variation, which has a bit of tartness from the balsamic and a bit of sweet from the honey. Don’t be put off by the touch of pepper: you don’t actually taste it much but adds a nice little bit of depth of flavor.
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6. June 2015