Saskatoons - Unique to Canada by Ruth L. Snyder

Saskatoons are a fruit unique to Canada. Mention Saskatoons to people from other countries, and you'll likely receive a blank stare. However, people who live in Canada have enjoyed the purplish-blue berries for hundreds of years.

The name "saskatoon" comes from the Cree word, "Mis-sask-quah-too-mina". The city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was named after the berry. According to Prairie Berries,

"the berries were a staple for both Aboriginal people and early settlers. The berries were enjoyed fresh, or steamed and mashed and then left to dry into a brick-like consistency for longevity. Pieces of these berry bricks were then chipped off as needed and added to soups, stews or simply boiled to reconstitute them." 

Today saskatoon bushes grow both in the "wild" and as cultured plants. The bushes usually blossom in May and produce berries in late June or July. Canadians enjoy eating saskatoons fresh, or in a variety of baked goods like pie or muffins.

This week my children and I had the opportunity to enjoy picking saskatoon berries. Since we've received ample rain this year, the berries are large and juicy. This afternoon my youngest daughter and I used some of the berries to make saskatoon pie. (I found some great recipes to try on the August's Harvest website.)

Here's the recipe we used

GRANDMA'S TOON BERRY PIE
4 cups saskatoons
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
2 tablespoons butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)
In a large mixing bowl, combine saskatoons, sugar and tapioca. Be careful not to damage the berries. Pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal and crimp edges, then cut slits in the top for steam vents. Top with pats of butter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

What is your favourite recipe to use when you have access to fresh saskatoons?

Ruth L Snyder

Check out Ruth's blogs:

www.trusteesnyder.blogspot.com(Education information)

www.ruthlsnyder.com (Ruth's writing and family life) www.earlyyearssuccess.com (Information for caregivers of children ages 0-5)

Follow Ruth on Twitter:www.twitter.com/@wwjdr

Recipe for 'Riting - Karen Toews

Food is my gig.

Beyond the obvious - needing to eat to sustain myself - I work with it, talk about it, demonstrate how to cook with it, write about it.

Sometimes I just "wing it" - I check the fridge and the pantry and create a meal or a dish using what's available. But when I really want to try something new or need it to turn out just right, I use a recipe with its ingredient list and instructions.

Writing a piece of work - an article, blog, poem, or book - is much like following a recipe.

There's structure: listing what you need for the expected finish, with specific guidelines on how to proceed with those ingredients. An outline, a procedure - a beginning, a middle and an end.

And not everything requires the same amount of time from beginning to end. A quatrain - a trail mix of raisins, peanuts, almonds and dried apricots - is altogether quite different from preparing a memoir of a simmered stew of a lifetime.

Wash, cut, chop, taste - add a little more seasoning - polish, add a paragraph, find that perfect word, move a paragraph.

Simmering the dish too long can dry it out - when the book is finished, it's done, ready to be enjoyed.

There's a calling, a reason for the creation

• could be a "quick lunch," a pithy piece like a devotional - with a scripture reference and three points to ponder throughout the day. The ingredient list isn't long but each one packs a punch.
• there are special holiday meals: a variety of flavours, colours and a taste of tradition: those articles that draw on our past, portraying God's faithfulness and blending it with the vibrance of life and hope for today
• we get a craving for spice and zest - a heart-challenging message that sparks a flame

The dish doesn't always match the recipe picture - the story heads off on another direction, minding its own will.

But "we can always revise and revisit once we've acted....we can accomplish nothing until we act."

(Do the Work! by Steven Pressfield)

Stick to the gig, my friends.

Bad Recipes by Brenda J Wood

My friend decided to stop baking and gave me all her recipes. Whew! What a stack.I thought all of them would be great because after, all she had them in her possession.

Sadly this was not the case. No matter what I did to tofu, my hubby would not believe it was hamburger. (Please don't send me your favourite version...it won't wash here!)

The Rocky Road bars really were rocky while the Spinach rolls were for admiration only.

Finally I figured out her system. A barely legible recipe, with sticky edges and brown blobs met "Try me. I taste good." In a very short time, I edited that recipe pile down to a few special ones and tossed the rest.

Her most spotted recipe?

Cherry Snacks

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Crumble these ingredients together and pat into bottom of 9" square pan. Bake at 350F for 8 minutes, then mix the following ingredients and spread on the top.

2 well-beaten eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup walnuts

1/2 pound candied cherries

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup finely shredded coconut

Return to oven and bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Top with butter icing if desired.

Just like recipes, life gives us lots of opportunities. Some are worth trying at least once but too many are not worth even one experience. Only a few are really worth the money, time and effort they demand.

We've all chased a few bad recipes. Some should have been thrown out immediately because we saw others make the same mistake.

Still some of us must try.... Lesson learned the first time should be enough.

Made a mistake and tried it? Too bad. Lesson learned.

Repeated the same mistake again---and again---and again...?

Shame on us.

Brenda J Wood

http://heartfeltdevotionals.wordpress.com