late march flora

flowers for a dinner...

from the backyard: native azaleas, hellebores, begonia, oats....and maple seed pods

strawberry shortcake

i love to make cakes.  for my birthday this year, some good friends of mine gave me the book "

cake ladies

".

the author jodie rhoden, interviews 17 southern woman and tells their story about their favorite cake recipe.   since strawberry season is here, i made a cake inspired by matilda reed's strawberry shortcake recipe.

it is an old appalachian stack cake. the layers are almost like a shortbread cookie topped with strawberries and whipped cream...it was divine.

recipe follows

ingredients

shortcake

2 cups self-rising flour, plus a little more

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold non-hydrogenated  shortening (or her recipe calls for lard)

1 egg, beaten and at room temp

1/4 cup milk at room temp

____

strawberries

3 quarts of strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

____

whipped cream

1 pint of whipping cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup

directions

shortcake

-place 2 cast iron pans in the oven

-pre- heat to 425 degrees

-cut the shortening into the flour with a fork

-add the egg and milk to the flour mixture and mix until combined

-transfer dough to a floured surface and kneed until it resembles pie crust dough

-cut mixture into 4 parts

-roll one part into a ball and with a rolling pin, roll into a circle

-gently place circle onto the cast iron and place in oven for 10 minutes

-if you have 2 cast iron pans, do the same

-when done, transfer to a cooling rack

-wait to assemble until just before serving.  in the meantime you can layer with a paper towel on a plate

strawberries

-slice the strawberries (removing the greens) and mix with sugar

-set aside for 15 minutes

whipped cream

-whip the cream until it begins to thicken and peaks form

-add the vanilla and maple syrup and store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble

assembling

-put a layer of the shortcake down on a plate

-spread whipped cream on the cake

-place a layer of strawberries

repeat until all ingredients are used.

chow chow deviled eggs

our friend mandy makes the best deviled eggs.  they are a little spicy and a little creamy, and have the perfect amount of acid to make them perfect.  she made us some the other day and shared her special ingredient.  CHOW CHOW.  she lives in comer and there is a vendor at their farmers market who sells canned goods.  he's got a variety f different chow chows and pickles.  she loves his hot chow chow which indeed is quite hot.   next time you make some deviled eggs, throw in some chow chow, they'll be a crowd pleaser for sure.

ingredients

8 eggs, hard boiled and shelled

2 Tbsp mayonnaise (we love Dukes)

1 Tbsp (or more) of hot chow chow

salt to taste

cayenne or paprika for sprinkling

directions

-half the hard boiled eggs

-scoop out the yolks of the eggs

-mix all of the yolks with the rest of the ingredients

-spoon mixture into the egg

-lightly sprinkle the paprika or cayenne over each egg

-sit in a cool place until you are ready to serve