Downriver Dispatches

That heat we had will hopefully not come again. Yesterday's breeze from the ocean was heaven. That heat burned the new growth on a couple of my rhododendrons. And my lovely pink rose just wilted away. We and our plants are not meant for that kind of three-digit heat. That is for cactus! So glad I live close to Grays River and benefit from lower temps around water, or that's my theory!

July 4th treats: The ladies at the Senior Lunch Club encouraged me to include recipes in the Dispatch, so in honor of the holiday, here are three I chose for you. I know these may be a bit hard to read, but I did it this way so the newspaper staff won't have to make the letters too small for you to read. Hopefully this works as column space is limited. Two are from the Finnish Midsummer tea held early last month at the Archives Center and one is from Donna Klint's cookbook, "Magic of the Backwoods Kitchen" for sale at the center. It is full of older recipes from our local families.

Cream Rhubarb Pie from Donna's Book with recipe from Lauaraine Andring Ross: 2 cups sugar; ¼ cup flour; ¾ tsp nutmeg; 3 eggs, slightly beaten with 3 Tbsp. milk; 4 cups rhubarb, cut up. Mix all together. Pour into pie shell. Dot with 1 Tbsp butter. Cover with lattice top. Bake 55 minutes at 400 degrees.

Dahlia House Lemon Cardamom Cookies from Linda Elliott:

Ingredients: 1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 1-1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar; 2 tsp lemon zest; 7 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp milk.

Lemon Cardamom Sugar: 2 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 tsp freshly ground cardamon. (Fresh is best)

Method: 1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 3. In a separate mixing bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest and sugar together until the sugar is pale yellow and fragrant. Add butter and mix until well combined. Add vanilla, milk; mix again until well combined. Add dry ingredients; mix until you have a smooth dough. Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes. 4. In small bowl, whisk cardamom and sugar for coating. 5. Roll 1 1/2 Tbsp size scoops of dough into 12 balls. Roll each cookie doughball into sugar mixture until coated and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. 6. If you want to make an ice cream sandwich, scoop a generous size scoop onto half the cookies and top with the rest of the cookies. Freeze until hard and enjoy!

Ashley McCoy's Sponge Cake with strawberries and whipped cream: 6 eggs; 1-1/3 c. sugar; 1 tsp powdered vanilla; 1-1/3 c. flour; ½ tsp salt; bake at 325 in a sheet pan for 20 minutes. Watch it and remove it after it turns golden brown. After it cools, soak top with simple syrup. Cut cake into various sizes of rounds, then stack rounds (larger on bottom, smaller on top) with strawberries and whipped cream between cake wedges and on top.

Photo of the Week: Ashley McCoy is the baker/cook at the Archives Center. She is self taught. She bakes great treats and cooks lunch and breakfast each day they are open. She lives in South Bend and is happy to travel down to Naselle to work there. She has always enjoyed cooking, so she researches recipes and bakes great Finnish bread. She has always preferred working at the coast and enjoys being at the Archives Center because it is peaceful and calm. She says the Archives Center is "an interesting building" so she uses any extra time she has to explore all the treasures there so she can "get educated" on local history. She has a new helper, Coral Ruch, who will be a waitress and kitchen assistant. Her family has a history of working with food, so she is most welcome. Please introduce yourself when you come by the center to visit and have a meal or coffee and a treat.

Senior Lunch Club meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. The first Wednesday lunch is on July 7 with a July 4 theme featuring hot dogs and hamburgers. A small donation is requested for this one, then on July 21, it's a monthly potluck, and those are not to be missed. Great food and plenty of it! There is a large group at both luncheons so be sure to put it on your calendars! See you there.

Word for the Week: Summer.