Marinated Mushrooms

Adapted from my Mother’s recipe for marinating wild mushrooms.

2 lb small white button "store" mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)
1/2 lb pearl onions
1 carrot
4 tablespoons salt
2 quarts water

32 oz white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 bay leaves
4 allspice berries
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dill seed

Peel the onions. Cut off the mushroom legs flush with the caps and discard. Slice the carrots thinly. Bring 2 quarts of water with the salt to rapid boil. Add onions and carrots to the water, bring to boil. Add mushrooms, cook 1 minute, drain.

Mix vinegar with 1 cup of water, sugar and spices, bring to boil. Place drained mushrooms and
vegetables in jars, 3/4 full. Fill jars with hot vinegar, cover and twist.

Best after 2 weeks. Use within 12 months. Refrigerate open jars.

Magdalena's Scones

3 cups white unbleached flour
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
1 flat measuring teaspoon baking soda
1+1/2 flat measuring teaspoons baking powder
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup Half&Half
1 cup frozen berries (keep frozen)

top glaze:
1 yolk
1 teaspoon cream or milk

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter one cookie sheet, or line it with baker's parchment (not wax paper, as that will smoke at this temperature).

In a small cup, mix the egg yolk with cream using a pastry brush, keep it handy.

Prepare your work surface: sprinkle liberally with flour, set the bowl with frozen berries close to hand, and have the cookie sheet within reaching distance, since once you get your hands clumpy with dough, you don't want to touch anything.

Place the butter, flour, sugar, lemon zest and extract, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl of a mixer.

Have the measured lemon juice in a larger cup and the measured Half& Half next to it. You will try to combine them and then pour all into the mixer just as you hit the start button, all in one motion, as fast as possible. When you combine the juice and the H&H, it will instantly curdle - don't worry about that, keep pouring quickly into the mixer. Process for 5 seconds, stop. Pulse 2-3 times, let the dough come together, swirl once around and stop.

At this point the lemon juice and the soda start working together and the dough becomes spongy. Using a spatula, turn out the whole mess onto the floured work surface trying to form an elongated blob. Flatten the blob on the floured surface and pour out the frozen berries on top. Fold the dough on itself lengthwise enveloping the berries (you can see this clearly in the photo), and pat it with your floured hands into a 2" high, 3" wide , 12" long mound, flatten the top. Spread the egg yolk mixture with a brush on top. This is not an exact art, they can look blobby. And if the berries stick out too much, push them in with your finger, so a minimum number of berries will be exposed.

With a wide knife cut the mound in a zig zag, like this: | / \ / \ / \ |

You will end up with 5 triangles and 2 end blobs. Place those using the wide knife or a spatula onto the prepared cookie sheet with as much space between as possible. Place in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the cracks look baked. Lower the temperature to 400°F after the first 10 minutes.

Remove to cooling racks, let cool a bit before serving with butter or jam, or clotted cream.

Can be frozen and reheated for 10 minutes in 400°F oven, or like pop tarts in the toaster.

To clean the work surface, scrape off the mess with a knife or pastry cutter to make the wash up easier.

Baked Beans with Apples, Raisins and Lavender

One 15 ounce can of beans (such as Bush's Vegetarian Beans)
2 sour apples, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. lavender
salt, pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Mix all ingredients. Transfer to a baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve as a side dish with entree, or with rice or tortillas as a main dish.

Cream Puffs with Lavender Sugar

4 ounces of butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon culinary lavender, finely chopped
whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter and flour one cookie sheet. You will also need a pastry sleeve or a large sturdy Ziploc® bag with a corner cut off for squeezing out the dough shapes.

Bring water and butter to boil in a medium saucepan. Add flour all at once stiring vigorously with a wooden spoon. When the ball of dough forms, remove from heat, stir for 30 seconds, add one egg at a time, stir well to combine. It will slip and slide, but finally, it will come together to form a very thick and sticky dough. Transfer to the pastry sleeve or plastic bag. Squeeze round nuggets of dough about the size of an apricot onto the cookie sheet 3 inches apart. They will double in size during baking. Bake 20 minutes, open the oven door to release the steam, lower the heat to 325°F, bake 20 minutes or longer, until golden. Cut across one puff and check the interior. It should have a soft, souffle-like inside, and a stiff golden crust. Fill each half with whipped cream, sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar mixed with finely chopped culinary lavender. Decorate the tops of cream puffs with whole culinary lavender buds.

It is best to mix the sugar with lavender several days ahead to maximize the flavor. Keep it in a tightly sealed jar. If the sugar clumps, fluff it with a fork.