Perfect--Iowa-- weather filled the days during the week surrounding the Fourth of July celebration. We had two super steamy days, then more moderate temperatures with a "scurry up the dock steps" threat of thunderstorm. Rain delayed the fireworks until Friday, but the display was well worth the wait. All of us on the deck declared "the best ever!"
There were other shows, too, including causal air show fly-overs beginning with the B-17 on Saturday and Sunday from the real air show at the airport. The sea plane made several landings and take-offs at our end of the lake, and on the Fourth the biplanes flew over in formation. Quite a sight to see!
All manner of boats, including some woodies from the 1940s and 50s, a very large inflated flamingo and an even larger inflated pelican--this one towed by a jet ski-- filled the lake. At times it seemed as though one could walk across the boats rafted up at State Park Beach.
I had the freezer well-stocked,. Or so I thought until the hungry -- growing -- boys arrived.
Loaves of zucchini bread, sweet-potato cinnamon rolls, and the Berry Bread disappeared before the week's visit was completed. But that is, after all, why they were there.
We had enough good food to last the week and we had planned well enough so we didn't have to go to the store too often. We grilled meat from Louis Fine Meats, enjoyed meal out at PM Park, crafted the left-overs into sandwiches, pizza, and quesadilla. Gobbled our Farmer's Market vegetables and fruits while we looked longingly at the too-slow progress in our vegetable garden and berry patch.
With the company headed home, time to tidy the cottage for the next round of guests, do the laundry, and convert the bits of leftovers into unexpected delights. Ham bone in the freezer for winter soup.
Yogurt Cheese: I spooned the plain and vanilla yogurt into a coffee-filter-lined sieve and let it drain overnight. Then put the thickened almost cheese in a thin cotton dish towel and hung it up over a bowl to drain for a few more hours. Plunked the cream cheese like mixture in a container and back in the fridge.
Berry Bread: I took the leftover strawberries, cherries, and eggs and made another batch of Berry Bread. Tasted great, but as the strawberries faded a bit it isn't as pretty as the original loaf made with blueberries. I made more of that, too. Here's the recipe.
Always good to have this terrific Berry Bread in the freezer.
Berry Bread (Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Roman Breakfast Cake in the
New York Times)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons, loosely packed, finely grated lemon zest
from one huge or two regular lemons
1/2 cup vegetable oil -- such as Wesson
3 tablespoons lemon juice -- more or less depending on what you get from the zested lemons
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries -- you can also use raspberries, very firm diced peaches, and / or blackberries.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the baking pans by greasing them well and dusting with flour. OR use the "baking spray" right before putting the pans in the oven. Loaves can have an tendency to stick, so be generous. I bake this in three loaves -- the foil kind roughly 7 x 3 x 2 1/2. You can use any pan you like and adjust the baking time.
Combine the flour and baking powder and set aside. Have the rest of your ingredients measured out and at hand. You don't want to shilly-shally mixing this up.
With an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Combine the sugar and lemon peel in your electric mixer bowl and knead with your hands until the lemon aroma fills the room! Or so it will seem. Add the egg yolks and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes making a thick, pale batter. Add the oil and continue mixing for another 3 minutes. Then stir in the lemon juice and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients until well blended. Next, using a rubber spatula, gently fold about a third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then fold in the rest, adding the berries just before the egg whites are completely mixed in.
Pour the batter into prepared pans filling them about 2/3 full. Place pans on baking sheet and bake until firm in the center, about 35 minutes for the loaf pans. Remove from oven and put the pans on a cooling rack on their sides for about 10 minutes, flipping them to the other side once. Remove loaves from pans and place breads on the cooling rack. You may find it useful to run a dinner knife around the edges if necessary to help loosen. Continue to cool on their sides
Note: fruit frequently sinks to the bottom third of the loaf. That's just fine!
Makes 3 loaves approximately 7 x 3 x 1 1/2
Loaves keep well in the refrigerator for a week, OR in the freezer for months.. I wrapped them in Press-N-Seal, returned them to the foil baking pans and put them in a heavy freezer zippered bag, pressing out as much air as possible.
