Saturday mornings in the community are referred to as “Weekly Beehive” time. Every Community member young and old is assigned to some task where they busily work together with others on any number of projects that need doing that week.
This week I was assigned to tea preparation. Our Friday Harborside plated teas have been a tradition since the very beginning of the Community. Many people, especially vacationers, look forward to them in the summer months and at Advent. This week’s plate includes a mini crab cake which is always popular. My job was to make the filling for one hundred of these. When I did, it tasted so good I thought, “Why just for tea why not for a main meal?” So I made a larger version that was a big hit for lunch at the Convent!
Finely chop crab meat, celery, scallions all to the same size and place in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, relish, and 1/3 cup saltines and toss together.
In a separate bowl beat egg slightly and add lemon juice and zest. Add to bowl and combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Shape into patties and carefully press on both sides into remaining saltines.
Rather than the usual method of frying the cakes, I chose to simply bake them on an un-greased pan or a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
Less work, less mess and clean up. Less fat!
We are exceptionally fortunate to have a variety of fruit trees so close to the convent where we can actually see the fruit daily ripening on their branches. I never tire of watching them, year after year, as they develop from buds and blossoms to fully formed peaches, plums, pears and apples. Right now nectarines are the main attraction and center stage in all their beauty, with peaches just behind waiting in the wings to make their appearance.
There is a sweet little cake with a zesty fresh lemon flavor that lends itself perfectly as an accompaniment to any fresh fruit. It is a simple to mix batter into which you add slices of your choice of fruit according to the season; apricots, peaches and apples. It is surprisingly versatile and appealing and can be served in many ways. Lovely all by itself with a cup of tea, or alongside a dish of fresh fruit, it also packs nicely into a lunch box or picnic basket. This morning a beautiful basket of freshly picked nectarines appeared on the kitchen counter, some of them still on their leafy branches. This afternoon we made little nectarine cakes. They all disappeared in no time.
When I got up this morning to go to Lauds, I thought I might need a jacket…wow, how things change. Last time I wrote we were in the middle of a humid heat wave. Last weekend was Transfiguration Sunday, a feast reflecting the name of our church. We always have a coffee hour after church to celebrate. I found a blueberry pie filling and wrapped that in the dough we had made the day before. They were really delicious, and moist! Of course the huge amount of frosting I drizzled on helped, but it was a very light moist cake and the filling was perfect. There were lots of compliments on this latest adventure.
It is so amazing to me how the humble little garbanzo bean has grown in popularity over recent years and so firmly established itself in our American diet. Because it is so rich in protein and fat free it is a healthy source of nourishment. Recent tests have now verified that adding garbanzos to one’s diet reduces, in many people, craving for other less wholesome foods. These little chickpeas, as some people prefer to call them, are a fantastic snack roasted in a little olive oil and sprinkled with onion salt or other favorite seasonings.
But our favorite way of having them at the convent is in the form of homemade hummus with pita pockets – when sisters see this on the lunch menu a cheer sounds throughout. Everyone goes away from the meal happy- including the kitchen crew because it is such an easy meal to prepare to eat and to clean up.
Spring is officially here. It’s a lovely day, sun shiney, a bit cool, but leaves are starting to come out. I am keeping a close eye on all of the perennials I planted last fall, and almost all have come up. And of course we have been babying our vegetable seedlings in our grow-tent, which will start to go into the ground any minute now. It’s a very hopeful time of year, full of new beginnings and promise.
We have been hosting special receptions each month as a part of the celebration of our choir’s 25th anniversary. Each month I am faced with the challenge of beautiful finger food that fits in a budget, and isn’t the same every time. I often use ingredients I’ve popped into the freezer. Cheese and crackers are always a good staple. We tried out two different recipes of cheese balls, and ended up combining elements of both to make a really classy cheese ball with lots of flavor. It’s a cheddar/Parmesan with port wine-soaked craisins folded into the mixture. Really delicious, and everyone loved it!
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Cheddar/Parmesan Cheese Ball with port wine soaked craisins
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix cream cheese, sour cream, shredded cheeses, lemon zest, onion, garlic, pepper, cayenne until well combined, adding craisins at the end.
Put chopped pecans on a piece of waxed paper.
Remove cheese mixture from bowl, form into a ball, and roll in the chopped pecans.
Can be refrigerated, but fine to serve right away.
I’m often amazed at the speed with which different foods become popular once they are introduced to the public. Growing up we always had homemade Greek yogurt available in our refrigerator for snacks, desserts, or general cooking. (This was before it was sold commercially). A cup of fine demitasse and a little dish of yogurt topped with a spoonful of homemade peach or cherry preserves was a typical dessert at our house. Often we had crumbled Feta cheese in our scrambled eggs for breakfast, and almost daily sprinkled it on our salad. None of my friends had it at their homes. Back then it literally was “foreign” to them. Today it’s very common. You can seldom make your way through a homemaker’s magazine without finding Feta cheese sprinkled somewhere on something! Here is a dish using both Feta cheese and yogurt that was once considered out of the ordinary and is now a familiar favorite of many. This is Spanakopita, Greek spinach pie… a healthy, flavorful, easy to make meatless meal.
