Hello All!
Yes I know it's been a while. Life happens sometimes and takes us away from our goals. But I am back my dears.
So I want to talk about Farmers Markets. I have moved away from some of the best farmers markets I know and now have a 30-40 minute drive to get to them. But it is worth it. Dear lord it is so worth it.
This is my bounty from this past weekend. Basil, tomatoes, blueberries, the best strawberries ever, peaches, Persian cucumbers, and lemon cucumbers. My car was filled with the smell of basil and strawberries. It was amazing. It smelled like summer. It smelled like picnics and gatherings. I came home full of energy and purpose. Recipe ideas were swirling around my head and I felt virtuous and healthy. I was ready to cook. So I did. A lot.
I made a salad out of the cucumbers. Easy and so basic I won't even deign to call it a "recipe" I just cut them up (only peeling the lemon cucumbers) and put dressing on it. The tomatoes and basil went with some mozzarella I had to make a caprese salad. The strawberries went with a loaf of almond pound cake and ginger whipped cream to make my version of strawberry shortcake. The blueberries into a blueberry tart. The peaches have yet to find a goal and may just end up eaten. But non of these were my biggest challenge I set myself. That was reserved for Dammsugare.
So Dammsugare is a Swedish dessert. In Swedish it means "vacuum cleaner". I haven't met anyone who knows why this is. But they are delicious! The dough is easier then I expected but it turned out amazing. Here is the recipe I worked off of.
To make dammsugare (makes around 10):
(from London eats)
For the filling:
• 250g cake crumbs (e.g. vanilla sponge)
• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 20g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 40ml punsch or rum
To decorate:
• 300g marzipan
• few drops green food coloring
• 200g dark chocolate
To make the filling:
Put everything into a bowl and mix well until you have a soft dough. It will be a little sticky and slightly crumbly. Form into 10-12 rolls.
To decorate:
Add some food coloring to the marzipan and knead well until evenly coloured. Sprinkle a worktop with icing sugar, and roll the marzipan into a long strip 2-3mm thick (you might find this easier in two or three batches).
Use the marzipan to cover the portions of dough – get a good seal on the underside, and pinch the end closed. Roll the marzipan-coated dough on the worktop to get a smooth finish. Keep going until all the dough pieces are covered.
Next, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, and dip the ends of each
dammsugare into the chocolate. If you want them to look professional with glossy chocolate, you can either
temper the chocolate, or take the easy option – skip the tempering, and put the dipped
dammsugare on a plate in the fridge to harden.
I made a few more then 10. You can make them whatever size you want.
I made them small, about two bite size. They are best kept in the fridge I found. When left at room temp the marzapain didn't stay hard enough to hold them together. So good though! I want to try with different types of cake and cookies. You can use either or whatever type of sweet crumbs you have around.
Now on another note I have a puppy! Her name is Pippi and she is a pitbull-lab mix. She is the sweetest most out going dog around. So be ready for more updates about the exploits of Pippi the pup!
Have a beautiful day and be kind to each other!
Pippi has come to work with me. It isn't an every day thing or even an every week thing. But when she does come I am amazed. She is amazing with the kids. She is perfect with them. She is calm and stays low and lets the do whatever they want without a grumble. It always reminds me of how lucky I am to have such an amazing dog. It makes me strive to be as patience with her and others as she is with me and the kids. She is young and has a lot of energy but her self control amazes me.
