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Rote Grütze
(Northern German Red Berry Dessert)
with Vanilla Mascarpone Whipped Cream

(can also be called: Rødgrød, or rode Grütt, depending on where you are from)

Switching gears here from something that is “typically Maine” (my Corn, Bacon and Lobster Chowder, previous post) to something typically “northern German”. Or maybe Northern European, because as I did my research for this dessert, I found that a number or Scandinavian, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc all had similar dishes. This is what in German is called Rote Grütze. It’s a fruit/berrry compote, slightly thickened, with predominantly red fruits and berries (“rot” is red in German). I used strawberries, raspberries, red and black currants but you could also use cherries (sweet or tart), plums, blueberries or blackberries.And I am sure I am missing some. It’s sweet and tart and very refreshing. I made a mascarpone whipped cream, but also can be served with just cream (unwhipped), ice cream or a custard sauce.

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Corn Bacon and Lobster Chowder

I’ve been in Maine these last few days and decided to do a “from scratch” project: Corn Bacon and Lobster Chowder (recipe: ). By “from scratch”, I mean we bought the lobsters “off the boat” in Winter Harbor, then cooked the sea bugs ourselves and then made the lobster stock, then dealt with the corn and finally made the chowder. It was a bit of an “all day affair” but I have to say that the chowder was pretty spectacular. Perfectly seasoned, full of fresh corn, potatoes, bacon and lobster and super creamy. Normally I am not all that impressed with my own cooking, but this was great. Very pleased.

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Low Sugar Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam

Before we end strawberry season for the year, I did attempt to “lengthen” the season by making jam. I am good at making jam; it’s usually quite delicious. This year, the berries were sweet, so I went with a low sugar jam variety, and added vanilla bean paste as an extra “bump” in flavor. Makes about 6 jars.

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Currant Quark Crumble Cake

Making the most of the very short currant season, I went PYO at Russell Orchards in Ipswich again. I am planning on making cassis (a flavored currant liqueur) again, so needed black currants for that, but the red currant bushes were overflowing with berries as well. This Currant Quark Crumble Cake is a combination of a coffee cake style (with lots of streusel / crumble), a cheese-cake layer with sweetened quark layer (you could also use cream cheese) and the fruit, which is a little like a muffin (like a blueberry muffin). Currants are very tart so you might have to adjust the sugar and honey to your liking. It is very yummy though; like summer sunshine.

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Kamut Wheat Cranberry
Walnut Breakfast Bread

As I mentioned recently, I have been experimenting with my new “stash” of Maine Grains. In addition, this is my standard Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Bread that I make almost every week. I swapped out the standard bread flour and a bit of whole wheat flour that I usually use to make it with the Maine Grains Kamut Ancient Grains wheat and it turned out fantastically. Moist, hearty and flavorful. I think it is a success. I will have to loop back with my “taste testers” to see what they think.

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