Garden Party

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Sarnie

Strawberry Shortcake

Fresh Fruits

A breath of fresh air and a season of growing hope!

Covid cases were falling, people were getting vaccinated, and it seemed life might soon return to normal. Indoor dining still came with restrictions, but we were craving food and company. 

So on a sunny afternoon in the early days of summer, Kaarina, Caroline, and Diane got together again in Kaarina's backyard Bamba Shack, surrounded by her lovely garden. Although our virtual get-togethers have been fun, being together in person was reason to celebrate.

Caroline and Kaarina prepared seasonal dishes, and welcomed Diane's humble offering of simple fruits to finish the meal. 

Caroline: Sarnie

This is not the dainty pinwheel, triangle or finger sandwich found at your traditional tea party. This is roll-up-your-sleeves and grab-a-knife-and-fork queen-sized sandwich.

I recall sending my husband a picture of the stacked sarnie from Jamie Oliver's Ultimate Veg cookbook. In my text I said: “When this is over [the pandemic] I will make this.” As restrictions slowly lifted after the third wave, the Epitourists finally could get together for lunch. A perfect opportunity to make this beautiful sandwich. I planned my biweekly sourdough bread making to coincide with our lunch date. Fresh bread at the ready, I gathered up the ingredients to make the sarnie. Once sliced halved and quartered, all the vegetables were grilled on the BBQ. I must confess that it absolutely broke my heart to extract the crumb from a freshly baked loaf of bread. As the recipe indicated, I saved it to make croutons. Once dressed, I stuffed all the ingredients into the hollowed bread cavity. Surprisingly, it all fit and the end result weighed approximately 4 kg. Tightly wrapped in cellophane, I refrigerated the sarnie overnight under the weight of a heavy cast iron pot.

Served alongside a bed of delicate greens and herbs picked fresh from the garden, the sarnie was a treat.

I have since made a similar version of this recipe on the mighty wee trawler Ruby Tuesday. I used cured, black olives, fresh rosemary, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and goat cheese as a dressing. I left out the cauliflower and added grilled mushrooms and rapini. Anything goes here. Your imagination is the limit.

Karrina: Strawberry Shortcake

When local strawberries arrived at my green grocer in June, the heady fragrance triggered memories of cake and whipped cream piled high with crimson berries. Yes! It was strawberry shortcake season! What better excuse for an afternoon garden party? And what better time for one than than Summer Solstice?

I have observed that I buy strawberries with my nose. I pick up a box and bring it to eye level, take a deep breath through my nose and if I don’t detect that heady sweetness that sings “Summertime,” I move on to other fruit. 2021 was a great year for strawberries - at least according to my olfactory epithelium. We ate a lot of them. As I said, the nose knows.

For my garden party strawberry cake I settled on a simple European sponge cake rather than a shortcake just because I like a classic genoise. It’s so versatile, great for all kinds of fillings and toppings. And simple. Just three ingredients - 6 eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup flour. No butter. Beat the eggs and sugar together until it triples in volume, gently fold in the flour by thirds and pour into a 9-inch springform pan fitted with parchment on the bottom. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out crumb free. Voila! Simple.

When the cake is cool - preferably the next day - slice it horizontally so you have two rounds. Slice 2 pounds of strawberries with a teaspoon or two of sugar and set aside for an hour to macerate. Whip up two cups of 35% cream with a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon vanilla. Pile up plenty of whipped cream and sliced strawberries on the first round of cake. Place the second round on top and pile on more strawberries and cream. Finish with cream and decorate with whole or half strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.