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Can't get enough of 'em

8/16/2015

2 Comments

 
“I just love these berries,” I cooed for the umpteenth time as my husband, Kevin, and I plunked handful after handful of dark purple aronias into yet one more waiting vessel.

When they first form in early June, the small green berries are clustered on upright branches decorated by glossy leaves that dance in the breeze and glisten in the rain. As they swell toward harvest, though, the now purple berries’ weight bends each branch toward the ground, distorting the bush’s natural silhouette.



We hurried this week to pick them after we spied telltale bird stains on the sidewalk, and Kevin startled an inquisitive robin swooping by for a quick nibble.

The catalog description for the aronias — an improved and renamed choke cherry — lists production at maturity at a whopping 27 pounds of berries per bush. Now that ours are nearing their benchmark height of 5 feet, I can finally give that seemingly incredible number some credence.


We pulled nearly 50 pounds from just two bushes!
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Choke's on us.
The firm berries are easily grasped in multiples and separate from their stems with barely a tug. With not a thorn in sight, they’re a joy to harvest — the only headache involved being the trudge back to the kitchen to grab another container.

In two hours, we ended up with one dishtub and three stockpots filled to the brim.

Most, we’ll turn into tart, antioxidant-rich juice that blends like a dream with seltzer or apple juice. Some of that resultant juice, we’ll mix with black raspberry and black currant juices and simmer until thick for a wildly delicious base for ice cream.

Finally, we’ll reserve and freeze a few quarts of whole berries for our signature goose-aroni-ant pies (part gooseberries, part aronia berries and part black currant).

It takes a bit of added sugar to make any of these products palatable, but once that sweet spot is reached, it’s a delectable taste experience — like nothing either of us has had before. If blueberries were a melody, aronias are the full symphony.

The multi-layered, nuanced flavor is intoxicating.

Have I mentioned how much I love these berries?
2 Comments

Not a suggestion; it's the slaw

8/7/2015

0 Comments

 
I don’t ever crave coleslaw, but I wholeheartedly welcome it alongside certain quintessential summer meals: fried fish dinners or barbecued chicken or pulled pork. I’ve even been known to polish off my serving before taking a single bite of the main attraction.

No matter where it’s ordered, the seasonal salad is reliably crunchy and tangy, with a hint of sweetness. But, there, the similarity ends. How coleslaw is presented, and what it includes, seems to be as variable as the chefs who prepare it. 

Sometimes it’s served as a ragged tangle of shredded, but still easily recognizable, cabbage and carrots. Sometimes the ingredients are minced fine and scooped like a ball of ice cream into a dish. At some establishments, it’s flavored with dill or mustard or pineapple. Infrequently, it’s drowning in thick mayonnaise; more often it’s kissed by a lighter dressing of vinegar and cream that binds and flavors without taking center stage.

My husband, Kevin, is a recent, but enthusiastic, convert to coleslaw’s charms. He spent years sliding his portion over to my plate, but in recent summers, he has become a veritable connoisseur. He’s even been known to choose where we dine based on the quality of the coleslaw.

Yet, until now, we’ve never tackled it at home. So, this spring, I planted a variety of cabbage that produces small, 3-pound heads — just large enough to make a week’s worth of coleslaw for the two of us.

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Head start?
I consulted numerous recipes that ultimately reinforced my notion that coleslaw is whatever you want it to be, so I decided to follow a basic guideline and season it to taste. For this inaugural effort, there would be no dill, no pineapple, no sweet pepper. No apple cider vinegar or lemon juice; no yogurt or buttermilk. No horseradish or jalapeño.

Instead, with our first harvest, I hauled out our biggest cutting board and set to work chopping. First the cabbage, then the carrot, then the onion. Once this finely chopped — but not minced — melange was mixed together in a bowl, I streamed in some white vinegar and sprinkled in some sugar. Then, I added a pinch of sea salt, a dash of black pepper and, finally, a serious splash of cream.

Voilà! 

In less than half an hour, a simple, basic coleslaw. 

We couldn’t resist munching it that evening, knowing it would be better the next day after the flavors melded — which it was. Kevin deemed it “the best he’d ever had.”

I have to agree. Next summer, I just might crave its return!

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    Kevin & Mary Schoonover

    In addition to art, Mary and Kevin are turning their front lawn into an edible landscape garden.

    Mary's "Front & Center" thoughts appear in purple; Kevin's are in blue.

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