Seasonal Fruit and Farewell

For everything there is a season, and with this post on one of summer’s classic favorite fruits, we publish our final recipe. We know many of you loved trying out the recipes over the years and this post on creamy frozen strawberry squares will be no exception! 

While this is the final new recipe/post for this blog – the entire searchable library of recipes will remain here on the site as always. The recipe search option can be used to find recipes that feature a certain ingredient, or perhaps an old favorite.

Today’s post features the strawberry – so abundant in the summer months!

Its surplus gives thoughts to strawberry rhubarb pie, a sisterhood favorite, the time honored classic strawberry shortcake, as well as other new ideas. A particularly bumper crop of strawberries this year has given us an opportunity to experiment and try some fresh ideas. After working with different combinations of crunchy crumbs and creamy strawberry fillings, this one proves to be a winner and captures the essence of Summer! 

While the posts for this website are ending, we will be continuing to publish “Daily Bread” –  a daily spiritual meditation on the Community of Jesus website that includes an excerpt from the Liturgy of the Hours, a meditation, a prayer and the lectionary readings. The “Daily Bread” can also be delivered to your mailbox.  

Click here to subscribe to the “Daily Bread”

We’ve enjoyed the partnership with all of you over the years and this last post comes with a prayer for God’s blessing on our readers. 

 

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Creamy, Frozen Strawberry Squares
SERVINGS
15
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20minutes
PREP TIME
35minutes, plus 2 hours
READY IN
3hours

Ingredients

Instructions

Crunchy Topping
  1. Set oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, toss together topping ingredients and then spread out on a baking sheet
  3. Toast in oven until walnuts are fragrant and crumbs are golden. Set aside.
Creamy Strawberry Filling
  1. Spray a 8x11 or 9x13 pan with nonstick spray
  2. Place strawberries in blender and puree until smooth (saving a few whole ones aside for garnish)
  3. In mixing bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form; set aside in another bowl
  4. In same mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy, then add condensed milk, vanilla, pureed strawberries;mix slowly until combined
  5. Fold in whipped cream, until partially blended
  6. Spread half of the toasted crumbs into baking dish, followed by strawberry filling
  7. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top and place in freezer for 2 or more hours, until frozen
  8. When thoroughly frozen, remove from freezer 1 half hour before serving; cut into squares and serve with whipped cream topping and fresh strawberry garnish

OATMEAL CARMELITAS

HANDS-DOWN, ONE OF OUR SISTERHOOD’S MOST FAVORITE TREATS!

This is a dessert / snack that I think is fair to say, always brings a smile and sparkle to the eye.  Whether served as a plated reception option, a surprise snack for a hard-working crew, a dessert tucked into a bag lunch, it always hits the mark—and is never refused!  And as a living testimony to this—today, I left the batch of fresh baked Carmelitas on the counter, only to find when I returned to do my blog “photo shoot”, that the Sister on duty saw them and couldn’t resist offering a few to some Brothers doing a spackling job; I’m still hearing how much they loved them!

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OATMEAL CARMELITAS!
SERVINGS
9-12
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20
PREP TIME
30
READY IN
50

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for crust; blend well to form a crumbly, moist crust.
  2. Press half of the crumbs into bottom of 9” pan and bake at 350 degrees, for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. After blending flour with caramel topping, spread over chocolate and nut mixture.
  4. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs, and bake 15-20” until golden brown

MAMA’S FLUFFY MAPLE CAKE

It’s too easy to lose track of the origin of some of the many wonderful recipes that we all love–but have no idea where they came from!

One of our Sisters, known for her love for cooking and her creative culinary skills, has a great intro to one of her favorite recipes… that lives on to this day!

“My mother, who came to this country as a young girl, first obtained a job doing housework for a wealthy family on 5th Ave, N.Y.  The lady of the house had a special liking for a tall, moist, three-layered cake from a nearby bakery—with a creamy custard filling, generous swirls of maple-flavored frosting and lavishly sprinkled with finely chopped walnuts. My mother soon cultivated a taste for this culinary wonder also—and developed her own recipe for the cake by taste and instinct.”

And now, through the years, it’s been passed on to us, with modifications and adjustments, and continues to be the quintessential dessert for the right occasion.

 

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MAMA’S FLUFFY MAPLE CAKE
SERVINGS
8-10
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
1hour
PREP TIME
1hour
READY IN
2hours

Ingredients

Instructions

Cake
  1. Lightly grease and flour (3) 8 inch cake pans
  2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt
  3. Cream together butter and sugar; add vanilla
  4. Beat in egg yolks and add milk alternating with flour mixture; mix well
  5. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cake batter
  6. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until cakes tests done, using a toothpick
  7. Cool before filling and frosting
Filling
  1. Scald milk and let cool slightly
  2. Beat eggs and whisk into milk
  3. Place milk back on medium heat and whisk in sugar, flour, cornstarch mixture
  4. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter, vanilla and banana flavoring
  5. Allow to cool and thicken before filling cake
Fluffy Maple Frosting
  1. Melt brown sugar in the water and bring to a boil.
  2. Gently continue boiling for about 15”, until it reaches the soft ball stage, about 240 degrees.. The thickness should be similar to maple syrup.
  3. Beat egg white until stiff. While continuing to beat, slowly pour in brown sugar mixture. Add in maple flavoring to taste; continue beating until cool, and it appears to be of a spreading consistency.
  4. Fill and frost cake; cover with chopped walnuts
  5. The cake holds well in refrigerator.

Variation on a Thumbprint Cookie

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Variation on a Thumbprint Cookie
As we were planning a reception for an upcoming Organ Concert, we all agreed on the perfect savories, but couldn’t make a decision about a complimentary sweet. “How about Thumbprint Cookies,” piped up a nearby sister, “but this time, try rolling them in chopped nuts.” Great idea – they’re colorful, and above all, they’re an old-time favorite that everyone loves. Butter, brown sugar, chopped nuts, and your jam of choice – a definite Yum!
SERVINGS
20cookies
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
cookies
COOK TIME
16mins
PREP TIME
25mins
READY IN
1hr

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325
  2. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolk; keep egg white separate in a little dish.
  3. Toss the flour and salt lightly together and then gently mix in.
  4. Shape dough into 20 balls; dip in egg white and then in chopped nuts
  5. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart; make a thumb indentation, and be sure the dough isn’t splitting apart.
  6. Bake for about 15-17 minutes. When golden and done, remove from oven, and indent each cookie again. Then spoon a little of your favorite jam into each thumbprint. Cool completely.

Blackberry Balsamic Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese​ and Grilled Chicken​

We continue to enjoy the harvest from our gardens over these summer months. This week we had an abundance of beautiful lettuce, so we expanded our repertoire and tried out some new combinations for our guests at Bethany. The crisp, salty, creaminess of the fried goat cheese paired with the sweet and pungent combination of the blackberry balsamic vinaigrette is the key here. Summer is a wonderful time to experiment with all sorts of combinations in a salad. “The colors of a fresh garden salad are so extraordinary, no painter’s pallet can duplicate nature’s artistry.” Have fun creating, eating, sharing, and enjoying nature’s storehouse!

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Blackberry Balsamic Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese​ and Grilled Chicken​
SERVINGS
4servings
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
servings
COOK TIME
10mins
PREP TIME
10 mins(30 mins marinate)
READY IN
30 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
  1. Mix everything well​ in the blender until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.​
Fried Goat Cheese
  1. ​Dredge the goat cheese slices/balls in the flour
  2. Dip in the beaten egg
  3. Dip in panko
  4. Fry in oil over medium heat until lightly golden brown before setting aside on paper towels to drain.
Salad
  1. Marinate the chicken in half of the vinaigrette for 30 minutes to over night before grilling over medium-high heat until​ golden and cooked through, about 2-5 minutes per side​. Set aside to cool and slice.
  2. Assemble the salad and enjoy!

Note: Best enjoyed while the fried goat cheese is still warm from frying!

Pecorino Pere e Miele

One of the beautiful things that I am learning about Italian cooking is that each ingredient is to be savored. So many times, we take wonderful ingredients and throw them all together and miss appreciating them as they were meant to be.

As I walk along the streets of Barga with the dogs in the morning or on my way to the Pannificio to get our bread for the day, I often take photographs of the menus hanging on the restaurant windows. When I return to the Villa and have a moment, I try to find a recipe and recreate them.

A featured item on the menu in the Garfagnana district, and much of Tuscany, is Pecorino pere e miele – Pecorino with pears and honey. Pecorino is a cheese made from sheep’s milk and each district or town here is very proud of their own version of the cheese. The taste of the cheese changes depending on what type of grass the sheep are fed and how the cheese is aged. Most popular and well known are those produced in Sardinia. A good Pecorino Stagionato is often the finish of a meal, served with pears and walnuts and drizzled with a strong chestnut honey or one of the lighter acacia honeys farmed locally. Their food is simple, but in this simplicity can be found tremendous beauty and taste. Savor the moment.

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Pecorino Pere e Miele
SERVINGS
4people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
0minutes
PREP TIME
10 minutes (or less..)
READY IN
10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pears
  • 4-5 oz. pecorino fresco, semi-stagionato or stagionato (fresco is a mild and soft form, semi-stationato is also soft but sharper and stagionato is the hardest and sharpest form)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • walnuts either in the shell or toasted halves - as many as you prefer

Instructions

  1. Slice the pear in quarters from top to bottom and remove the core carefully with a pairing knife. Then slice each quarter into three or four thin slices, depending on the thickness you prefer.
  2. Slice the cheese into small thin wedges.
  3. Fan the pears on the cutting board or serving plate with the cheese slices in between the pear.
  4. Set a dish of honey in the center of the board and place your walnuts around.
  5. Enjoy sharing this with your friends and family. Andiamo mangiare!

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