Valentine's Day

Wonder what Marjorie cooked for Charles on Valentine's Day before he left? Probably some wonderful Dora cream dessert or the yummy Baba au Rhum on page 172 of CCC.

Blueberries

I always imagine MKR walking in her garden at dawn. I don't know if she grew blueberries, but I suspect she did given that they grow well in the acid Fla. soil. Ranger Kate Morrison's Blueberry Pecan Cobbler(pg 26 Cross Creek Kitchens)is a huge favorite of mine because it provides the wonder of blueberries and pecans without the twelve tons of sugar most pecan pies require. Kate gives the choice of a yogurt or whipped cream topping. We know which one MKR would have chosen.Don't we?

Oranges, Sour and Sweet

My citrus tree are bearing. The limequats have lots of fruit. The kumquats won't be outdone.The amber sweets served sushi cut style are beautiful and tasty. Northerners gasp after the first bite. So this is a real orange, they say.Reading Kate Morrison's accounts of the revival of the Cross Creek Groves brings tears to my eyes. I,too, have a sour orange tree after one of mine froze back to the graft. I am about to make the sour orange pie Kate talks about in her Cross Creek Kitchens.

Rabbits' Eye Blueberry Toast

Yum. This morning was a big hit. I used some of the berries I had frozen from the bushes out front, tore up yesterday's fine pecan bread, made a layer of blueberries, cream cheese on the pecan bread, sprinkled some pecan halves and covered the entire mix with a standard French toast egg mixture. Put it in the fridge overnight. Popped it in the 350 oven for an hour. It was so completely wonderful. The aroma had the guests dancing down to breakfast.I can't wait for the blueberry bushes to bear fruit this year. Technically, only two of them are true rabbit's eye. The others are Bonnie Blue. Marjorie could have had some bushes just like mine.

Stuffed Collard Leaves

Why not? Why should the Middle Eastern folks have all the fun? I harvested some young collards and put them in the microwave for a few minutes to tenderize them. Then I stuffed them with cooked brown rice and peppers and covered them with marinara sauce. Yum. Who says collards are just to be cooked to death with fatback? I think Marjorie would approve.

Snakebite Sauce and Fried Green Tomatoes

It is tomato freezing cold here at the B&B. I harvested all of the green tomatoes yesterday and made fried green tomatoes for my guests. The Roma tomatoes were cut in 1/4 inch rounds ,dredged in cornmeal and flour, doused with Mrs. Dash's Lemon Pepper and "fried" in butter. The St. Augustine Snakebite sauce was served as an optional side in a crystal dish. The guests from the frozen north seemed to enjoy the sauce engendered warmth.

Florida's Cranberries AKA Rosselle

The flower looked like an okra flower but MKR's description of a rosselle plant was clear enough for me to understand that I did indeed have one courtesy of Lowes. Or at least I HAD one until the freeze. Curses on La Ninya or Ninyo whichever weather system dries us and freezes us. My urban farm is certainly dry and certainly cold.

Anyway I harvested the dead Rosselle calyxs and followed the directions for making jam. Yes, it turned out syrupy and red. It is good on hot biscuits, but then what isn't?