Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I wanted to use up the last of my olallies in a breakfast smoothie this morning. Set this in a container the night before and it's ready first thing in the morning 3/4 C chia seeds 4 C milk 4 T honey 3/4 C olallieberries (feel free to substitute for whatever berries you have on-hand) + some for garnishing Place the milk and honey in a large mixing bowl and whisk until the honey is dissolved - as much as possible. Stir in the chia seeds. Stir for at least a minute or two so that the seeds don't clump together too much. Stir in the berries; crush some against the side of the bowl to release their juice. Transfer to a container that you can seal. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, stir the smoothie. Add more honey if you need it a little bit sweeter. Garnish with more berrries. Serve cold.

With a few pounds of olallies left from our weekend adventure, I decided to try a riff on the Strawberry-Cream Scones I made for Greg's birthday last week. Another hit!! Scone Dough 2 ½ C flour (I refrained from using whole wheat) ½ C organic granulated sugar ½ t baking soda 1 t baking powder 8 T cold butter, cut into small pieces 2/3 C heavy organic cream 1 C fresh olallieberries + 3 fresh berries per scone for stuffing 1 egg 1 T cream In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the dough resembles pea-sized chunks. Add the cream and butter, using a spatula to form a ball. Gently knead in 1 C of olallieberries. The dough will turn a pretty purple color. Transfer to a floured surface and gently press into a disc. At this point, you can use a cookie cutter or simply cut the disc into wedges. Gently slice each scone through the ce...

Another combination of flavors that Dylan concocted during our olallieberry-brainstorm yesterday on the way home from picking olallies = milk + cardamom + olallieberries. So, I came up with an olallieberry milk pudding for breakfast this morning. Super fast and super tasty! 2 C milk 1/4 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs, beaten dash of ground cardamom splash of pure vanilla extract 2 T flour 3 T butter handful of olallieberries, rinsed, dried, and smashed  + olallies to garnish the individual servings Heat milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Gently bring to boiling, stirring, then turn off heat. Whisk the eggs and milk together over a low to medium heat. Add in the cardamom, vanilla, sugar, flour. Whisk until smooth. Continue whisking until the pudding coats the back of a spoon. Remember it will thicken as it cools. Incorporate the smashed olallies and watch the pudding turn to a pale pink. Stir in the butter until it's completely melted and the pu...

I initially mentioned, before we headed off to pick olallieberries, that I had an olallie-basil martini on the brain for later this evening. Friends' responses ran the gamut from: " I'll take 3 " to " sharing is caring " and " what time should I be there? " But one friend's comment really caught my attention - " just don't call it a martini ." It launched a virtual conversation that made me realize that I fallen prey to a common misconception myself... Tacking 'tini' on the end of a word does not a martini make. Think 'chocolatini' and 'appletini' and my woefully ignorant 'olallie-tini.' Okay. So, what does make a martini? A martini is a drink made with gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive. That’s it. Some may substitute gin for vodka, and call it a 'vodka martini,' but many purists would reject this and simply call it a 'cocktail.' There are variations of the classic ma...

I had a reader ask me: what's an olallieberry ? And I have even had a friend of a friend eat something I made with olallieberries and, still , persist in telling me that olallieberries do not really exist - that I made them up. So, I decided to do a quick little Olallie FAQ... What is an Olallieberry? Pronounced oh-la-leh, it is a hybrid that was developed at Oregon State University in the middle of the 20th century. It's a loganberry (blackberry + raspberry) and a youngberry (blackberry + dewberry) blend. Since it's a majority blackberry, genetically, it possesses similar flavor characteristics. However, it's much larger and generally sweeter than the blackberry. How did the Olallieberry get its name? “Olallie” is the Chinook (Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest) word for 'berry,' so you’re actually saying “ berry -berry." How do you spell it? O-l-a-l-l-i-e-b-e-r-r-y, but I've also seen it as – ollieberry, ollalieberry, ola...

I learned something today: when you go pick olallieberries on opening weekend of the season, there are oodles and oodles of olallieberries. We plucked over 16 pounds of ripe, luscious olallies in less than 20 minutes! Normally - when we go in July, after the rows have been open to the public for over a month - it takes us over an hour to get that same amount. We basically stood in one place, picked from bottom to top, and were done in a flash. Of course we ate while we picked. Thank goodness they didn't weigh the kids before and after...or me for that matter!   We came home and madly created all sort of goodness with our olallies. Here's the round-up from today... [ Click on titles to go to the original recipe post. ] Turkey Sandwiches with Olallieberry Sauce Olallieberry Gazpacho Fish Tacos with Olallieberry Salsa and Olallieberry Coleslaw   (made with Olallieberry-Oregano Vinaigrette ) Riley's Tipsy-Turvy Lallinade (made with Olallieberry S...

One of the suggestions that Dylan came up with for our olallieberry bounty: turkey with olallieberry sauce. "You know, Mom, like at Thanksgiving...instead of cranberry sauce." The kid was having a blast brainstorming what we should cook today. So, while we did laundry, I whipped up an olallieberry sauce, slathered it on a turkey sandwich, and called it lunch. Olallieberry Sauce 1/4 C organic granulated sugar 1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice 2 C olallieberries Wash and pick over olallieberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil orange juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add olallieberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Sandwich... Bavarian rye bread slices of roasted turkey slices of cheese (we used Danish havarti) Place pieces of bread on a baking sheet and layer ...

When we were on the way home from picking olallieberries, the conversation turned to answering this question: what should we do with all these berries? I love my boys' flavor-combining prowess! And one of Dylan's suggestions sounded like a winner - fish tacos with olallieberry salsa; Jake suggested adding a slaw to it. Sounded awesome to me! Pacific Cod, as long as it's caught in the U.S. and not imported is either labeled as a 'good choice' or 'best choice' according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch . It also has a nice, mild flavor that lets the other flavors in the dish sing. I pan-seared the cod in butter until cooked through with a light dusting of freshly ground salt, freshly ground pepper, and paprika. Then I layered it... tortilla Olallieberry Coleslaw Pacific cod Olallieberry Salsa* Olallieberry Salsa 1/2 onion, diced and caramelized kernels from 1 corn cob, blanched 1 C olallieberries 1 t diced jalepeno...

Gazpacho  is a chilled tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the Andalusia, the southern region of Spain.  It is also consumed in neighboring Portugal where it is called  gaspacho . It's the quintessential summer soup since you don't have to turn on a stove! I decided it was the perfect canvas to use a few of the olallieberries that we picked today. Ingredients 1 C olallieberries 1 C cherry tomatoes 1/2 C freshly squeezed orange juice 1/2 C onion, diced and caramelized 1 T salsa (whatever you have on-hand...I used a tomatillo-avocado salsa I had in the fridge) leaves from 1 sprig of fresh oregano Procedure In batches, blend everything in a blender. Ladle into individual servings and garnish with fresh oregano.

This is not much of a recipe, but it - along with an olallieberry salsa - made the fish tacos I served for dinner. The slaw added another texture and the vinaigrette tempered the natural sweetness of the olallies. 2 C shredded green cabbage 1/4-1/2 C Olallie-Oregano Vinaigrette freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss to coat. Let stand for at least 20 minutes before serving.

If you know nothing else about vinaigrettes, remember this: the magic ratio of oil to vinegar is 3 to 1. As long as you know that, you won't need to consult a vinaigrette recipe ever again. Just remember three parts oil to one part vinegar and you'll be all right. If you get them backwards and do three parts vinegar to one part oil, your puckered mouth will ensure you don't make that mistake a second time!  I had a bit of extra Olallieberry-Orange Jam that didn't fit into my jars, so I decided to make a salad dressing with it... 2 T olallieberry jam 1 part pinot grigio vinegar 3 parts olive oil freshly ground sea salt freshly ground pepper 2 T fresh oregano, torn into pieces I put that all into a mason jar and shook, shook, shook, and shook some more to make a temporary emulsion. You'll see this tonight on an olallieberry-topped salad.

I made an Olallieberry-Port jam for the tall people in the family; this was my non-alcoholic version for the small people. 8 C olallieberries, rinsed 1-1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 C freshly squeezed orange juice 1. Sterilize the jars for canning by boiling them and their lids. Or if you're lucky enough to have an automatic dishwasher, run them through a cycle. 2. To make the jam, place the fruit, sugar, and orange juice into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring the jam constantly, for about 15 minutes. 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Hold the jam at a constant simmer, checking frequently to make sure the jam isn’t scorched at the bottom of the pot. After 15 minutes, check to see if your jam has set by running a wooden spoon down the middle of your jam. If the jam leaves a path, it's set. If the liquid runs back to fill the path, cook it a little bit longer. 4. Place the jam in sterilized jars, leaving abou...

Jam is always a favorite when we come back with pounds and pounds of olallieberries. I usually make one with alcohol that's just for me and Jake. I'm not worried about the alcohol content - it cooks out; but the boys object to the flavor most of the time. "It smells like beer," they complain, in unison. It doesn't matter what kind of alcohol it is, they always say that it's beer. 8 C olallieberries, rinsed 1 C organic granulated sugar 1/2 C port (or another fortified wine) 1 T freshly squeezed orange juice 1. Sterilize the jars for canning by boiling them and their lids. Or if you're lucky enough to have an automatic dishwasher, run them through a cycle. 2. To make the jam, place the fruit, sugar, port, and orange juice into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring the jam constantly, for about 15 minutes. 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Hold the jam at a constant simmer, checking frequently to ma...

I knew that we were going to go pick olallieberries with friends this morning, so last night when I prepped the  Pâte Brisée   for our breakfast Rhubarb Crostata , I made a second dough. It made making this olallieberry crostata that much more simple! 1 batch of  sweet  Pâte Brisée 4 C olallieberries, rinsed and dried 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 2 T corn starch granulated honey for sprinkling In a large mixing bowl, toss together the olallieberries, sugar, corn starch, and butter. Preheat the oven to 425. Roll the chilled  Pâte Brisée   out between 2 sheets of parchment paper and lay it on your baking stone (or sheet). Spoon the mixture into the center of your crust, leaving about 2" on all sides. Gently fold the crust up to create a free-form tart. Sprinkle with granulated honey and bake for 45-50 minutes - until the crust is firm and lightly golden. Let cool slightly. Serve warm.

I think that rhubarb crostata and espresso are a perfectly fine breakfast! Okay, not for the kiddos, but definitely for me; they usually need something more substantive, something with protein before they head off for school. But it was an easy breakfast before we headed out the door, baskets in hand, to meet some friends and pick olallieberries. 1 batch of  sweet  Pâte Brisée 4 C sliced rhubarb 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 T corn starch 2 T softened butter granulated honey for sprinkling In a large mixing bowl, toss together the rhubarb, sugar, corn starch, and butter. Preheat the oven to 425. Roll the chilled  Pâte Brisée   out between 2 sheets of parchment paper and lay it on your baking stone (or sheet). Spoon the mixture into the center of your crust, leaving about 2" on all sides. Gently fold the crust up to create a free-form tart. Sprinkle with granulated honey and bake for 45-50 minutes - until the crust is firm and lightly golden. Let co...

When you help pick the olallieberries - despite probably eating almost as much as you put in the basket - you do have a say in what we make with the berry-bounty. Riley wanted to make an olallieberry lemonade. When I made it, with sparkling water, the whole berries with which we garnished the drinks, twirled in the liquid. So, Riley called it a Tipsy-Turvy Lallinade. In a mason jar or other class, add 1 T Olallieberry Simple Syrup and 1 t freshly squeezed lemon juice; top it all off with sparkling water. Adjust to your taste. If it's too sour, add more simple syrup; if it's too sweet, add more lemon.

After a morning picking olallieberries, the list of things to make with our bounty was long and lovely. But I started with a simple syrup that you'll see in a kid-friendly drink and one that is strictly for adults! Simple syrup is, well, simple...and fast. 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 C water 1 C olallieberries Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. All of the sugar should be dissolved. Cool and store in a bottle.