The Passing of the Wild Black Raspberry

I especially like black raspberries or blackcaps as my grandma called them. One of the things I loved about staying at my grandparents’ northern Michigan farm in the summers was picking and eating berries, especially blackcaps. Grandma and I would go to the woods to pick blackcaps. Grandpa had a more agricultural approach. He planted a large variety of raspberries - red, black and purple. I liked to help him pick those, too! I don’t know how much they appreciated my help though. I had a tendency to eat a good bit of what I picked.

On our West Virginia farm, I have educated my husband and son to not mow down the berries – black raspberries, blackberries and elderberries. It is to their benefit also, since they like jams, pies and homemade wine.

This has been a good year for berries. I haven’t been able to pick berries for several years, so I was eager to pick the black raspberries around our home. Then I went to look around the neighborhood for more. My husband and son had been telling me that there were lots of berries on the ridge. I was very disappointed that I could hardly find any wild black raspberries other than at home. There were quite a few blackberries waiting to ripen. And there were these weird hairy red brambles, that I didn’t recognize.

My son had picked some strange shiny, sticky raspberries by his cabin last summer, that we never did identify. Well, the black raspberries were almost done and the blackberries were starting to ripen. The guys said there were lots of berries on the ridge and went to pick them. They came back in a short time with at least a gallon of berries - strange shiny, sticky raspberries. Mind you, when I was picking black raspberries, I never did get at least 2 quarts at a time so I could make jam. They told me that there were huge patches of these berries all over the ridge. I was happy to have some raspberries, but worried about what had happened to the wild black raspberries.

It was time to investigate. After some diligent web searching, I was able to identify the strange berries as wineberries. I was also alarmed to discover that they are an invasive pest from Asia. They are displacing native species. With the explosive growth in our neighborhood in the last few years, they have displaced the wild black raspberry. The only reason I was able to pick them this year is because I love them and have encouraged their growth around my home. I can remember huge patches of wild black raspberries thirty years ago, where I could pick gallons over hours. Patches were closely guarded secrets. Now they are nonexistent.

Please check this link for more information:

DCNR Invasive Exotic Plant Tutorial - Wineberry

Beer & Venison Meat Loaf

My freezer overfloweth this time of year. We just put in two pigs from FFA and a deer. The guys would like to get more deer, so I am pressured to cook from the freezer. We will probably cold pack some of the next deer.

Meat loaf is a long honored tradition in our family, as in most. Our only rules are: ground meat, onions, egg, grain and ketchup. I usually throw some potatoes and winter squash in the oven alongside the meatloaf.

Serves 10 – 12

1 lb. lean ground pork
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground venison
2 Tbsp. onion flakes
1 cup oats
2 eggs
1 cup finely diced green bell peppers
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
½ can (12 oz.) Busch Light Beer
Salt & pepper
½ cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350°F. Have a 9” x 5” loaf pan ready.

Mix all ingredients, except ketchup, together in large bowl with your hands.

Pack into loaf pan and shape the top with a slight well around outside edge.

Bake for 60 minutes.

Spread ketchup over top and continue baking until meat thermometer stuck in middle reaches 170°F. It took almost 2 hours last time!

Take meat loaf out of oven and let it set for 15 minutes before slicing in the pan.

Thomas’ Impossible Catfish Pie

1/2 lb. lamb’s quarters

1 lb. catfish nuggets

2 cups cornmeal

½ medium onion

½ medium carrot

1 stalk celery

1 large potato

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

¾ cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup Bisquick

1 tsp. dill weed, c/s

¼ tsp. paprika, ground

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 11” or 12” deep dish pie plate with canola oil spray.

Prepare Lamb’s Quarters: Hopefully they were picked cleanly, but sort through them and remove any grass or weeds. Fill a large (2 gallon) tub with cool water and dunk and shake the greens to remove any sand or bugs. Pick them up by the handful and put them in a Dutch oven size kettle with a tight fitting lid. Cover and cook on medium high heat until all wilted. Cool, drain and chop (1” to 2” pieces). Layer in bottom of prepared pie plate.

Prepare catfish: Rinse and drain pieces, checking for bones. Cut into 1” nuggets and roll in cornmeal. Layer over the lamb’s quarters.

Prepare vegetables: Peel and dice the vegetables into 1/4” pieces. Sauté over medium heat in well seasoned skillet in olive oil until onion is translucent. Sprinkle vegetables over catfish.

Prepare batter: Mix soup, milk, eggs, Bisquick, and seasonings in blender. Pour over all.

Prepare topping: Melt butter in microwave safe 1 quart mixing bowl. Add Panko crumbs and stir with fork until mixed. Sprinkle over pie.

Bake in oven for 45 to 50 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out mostly clean. Pie should be just set, not over baked. Remove from oven and set on wire rack for five minutes before cutting and serving.

Serves: 8

Substitutions: Spinach can be substituted for lamb’s quarters. Frozen spinach should be thawed and drained. Canned spinach should be well drained.

Cream of chicken or cream of celery could be substituted for cream of mushroom. Flavor will be a little different but still tasty.

Chopped fresh dill weed would be a tasty alternative.

Addition: If you like it hot, add some hot sauce or cayenne to the batter. My husband puts hot sauce on about everything, including this pie.

This could easily be baked in a 9”x13” glass baking dish or two 8”x8” baking dishes. After baking, (or partially baked?), one could be frozen. Watch and adjust baking times as needed.

Edible Lamb’s Quarters

Since I moved to West Virginia some 30 years ago, and first picked a “mess o’ spring greens” with Grace, an elderly neighbor, I had never ventured to eat Lamb’s Quarters. I have tried dandelion greens, mustard greens, and wild cress, but something about their fuzzy faces or their name put me off.

This last year, we had to cut down a giant of a White Pine. It was the defining being of our farm, especially my front yard. Seen from the hill above my house, the tree could easily fit three of our house in volume. I am still mourning its loss. But from the remains has sprung a mess of new growth – weeds. Among those weeds, which the men had not got around to string trimming, was the most lush patch of Lamb’s Quarters. The tedious thing about picking wild greens is finding them. Here was a bounty begging to be picked - young and tender. So I did.

Lamb’s Quarters (species Chenopodium album) are also called wild spinach and are related to amaranth. They are very mild tasting and tender, but I’d have to say rather bland. I really like the bite of spinach. They would be an excellent addition to a salad mix. But my oldest son had been asking me to make a catfish pie – of all things!

So I washed and steamed them just like spinach. Then I chopped them and put them in the bottom of a catfish pie.

Here are some references and recipes for Lamb's Quarters.

http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/lambs%20quarters.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Ten-Ways-to-Prepare-Lambs-Quarters-or-Wild-Spinach&id=276620

http://www.heritagerecipes.com/main-dishes/lamb-spring-greens.htm

Dolmades

Dolmades have been made and eaten for thousands of years. Whether called dolmathes, dolmar, sarma, or yaprakes, stuffed grape leaves are a tasty little treat.

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Stuffed grape leaves, a delicious way to utilize an otherwise inedible object, originated in ancient Mesopotamia. Today, they remain popular throughout much of the Middle East. Stuffed grape leaves are known variously as yaprakes finos in Ladino, mehshi wara anib in Arabic, yaprak dolmas in Turkey, dolmades or dolmadakia yialandzi in Greece, dolma yalanchi in Armenia, tolma in Georgia, and dolma bargh in Iran. Yaprak is the Turkish word for leaves, generally referring to stuffed vine leaves, while dolma, originally a Farsi word, is a generic term for stuffed vegetables. Whatever they are called, stuffed grape leaves have long been a prominent component of the Middle Eastern meze (appetizer assortment).

http://www.ou.org/shabbat/recipes/nosourgrapes.htm

King Karl XII and his soldiers were imprisoned in Bender, Turkey, for many years. There, the King and his men tasted "dolmades" which were made from mutton wrapped in grape leaves. In Turkish "dolmades" means cloak and refers to the wrapping of the grape leave. When the warriors eventually returned to Sweden, they took with them the recipe for "dolmar". However, now the commonplace cabbage leaf was substituted for the grape leaf. The rice used in this recipe still reminds us of the oriental heritage of this dish. According to research carried out by the royal restaurateur Tore Wretman, the custom of dining on "kåldolmar" began in Stockholm. A group of Turkish officials traveled to Stockholm to press the King for money - and then stayed on for several years!

Cajsa Warg's recipe for "kåldolmar" contains a mixture of minced veal and rice seasoned with pepper, nutmeg, salt, onion, and a little cloves. She writes that this mixture is then wrapped in grape leaves, but if none are available "one can use cabbage leaves instead".

Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 12:35:42 +0100

From: "Bella"

Subject: A History of Swedish Cuisine - LOOOOOONG!!!

FamilyFare@yahoogroups.com

Cabbage rolls were introduced in Sweden by Karl XII who came in contact with this dish at the time of the Battle of Poltava and during his camp in the Turkish Bender and later introduced by his Ottoman creditors which moved to Stockholm in 1716. Kåldolmar was already described in 1755, by Cajsa Warg, in the famous Swedish Cajsa Warg’s kokbok.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_cuisine

Yaprakes

1/4 c corn oil
2 med (1-1/2 c) onions, diced small
1/2 tsp salt
1 c raw rice, well rinsed
1 egg, beaten
1 bottled grape leaves
2 (1/3 c) lemons, juiced
1 to 1 1/2 cups water

The stuffed grape leaves are eaten cold, and therefore are a vegetarian summer dish for times when temperature rises. They may be refrigerated until ready to serve as an appetizer with drinks, or used as a snack.

Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry onions and salt over low heat for 10 minutes, or until onions are golden.

Remove to a bowl and cool.

Add rice and egg and mix everything together.

Separate grape leaves and rinse them under cold water. Drain.

Put 1 tablespoon of rice filling on a leaf on edge nearest to you. Fold leaf firmly over filling, then tuck in each side and fold over into a round finger shape about 2-1/2 inches long. Prepare all leaves this way.

Arrange them in an orderly fashion in a saucepan.
Pour lemon juice and water over all.

Cover pan and cook over low heat for 40 minutes.

Test rice for doneness toward end of time. Should liquid dry out too quickly, add 1/4 cup water and continue to cook until all has evaporated.

Cool well and serve at room temperature.

Yield: 50.

rlhintexas@xxxxxxx

dailyrecipes@yahoogroups.com

7/1/2006 5:08 PM

Stuffed Grape Leaves

 1 lb. ground lamb or beef

1 c. cooked rice

1/4 c. water

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

36 grape leaves or small cabbage leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. lemon juice

In bowl, combine meat, rice, water, cinnamon, and 1 tsp. salt. 

Rinse grape leaves. (Or for cabbage, cut about 2 inches of heavy center vein from each leaf.  Immerse in boiling water 3 minutes or till just limp; drain.) 

Pat dry with paper toweling. 

Place about 1 Tbsp. meat mixture on wide part of leaf. Fold in bottom edge and sides; roll as for jelly roll. Repeat with remaining leaves and meat mixture.

Arrange on steamer rack in wok, seam side down. 

Pour water into wok to almost cover rolls. Add 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes.  

Add lemon juice; cover and simmer 5 minutes more. 

 Serves 6.

More from Your Wok, Better Homes & Gardens

kitchengardener@xxxxxxx

FamilyFare@yahoogroups.com

6/18/2003 3:00 PM

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Dill-Scented Rice

 Greeks have been wrapping food since antiquity, most typically using grape leaves. In early May, Greek country women go to the vineyard to collect their year's supply of leaves. The most famous dish made with them is dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, a standard appetizer (meze). In this version, they have a simple rice filling. 

1/2 cup olive oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 cups long-grain white rice

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

5 cups (or more) hot water

1 32-ounce jar grape leaves, rinsed, drained, tough stems trimmed

Plain yogurt and lemon wedges 

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until translucent, about 7 minutes. Stir in rice, lemon juice, parsley, dill and 1 cup hot water. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until rice is partially cooked and no liquid remains, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cover bottom of heavy large wide saucepan with some grape leaves. Place 1 large grape leaf on work surface. Spoon scant 1/4 cup rice mixture in center at widest part of leaf. Fold bottom of leaf over. Fold sides in. Roll up. Place seam side down in pan. Repeat filling and rolling with remaining rice filling and grape leaves, stacking filled leaves atop one another in pan if necessary. Pour enough hot water over just to cover. Place heavy large heatproof plate over stuffed grape leaves. Cover.

Simmer over medium-low heat until leaves are tender and rice is cooked through, about 1 hour. Using slotted spoon, transfer stuffed grape leaves to platter. Serve warm or cold with yogurt and lemon wedges. 

Yield: 24.

Bon Appétit, May 1995 

neris@xxxxxxx

mediterranean@yahoogroups.com

5/2/2001 6:11 PM

Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 jar grape leaves, or about 50 fresh grape leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound pork or lamb chops
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 cup lemon juice
40 garlic cloves

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, rice, garlic powder, allspice, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and set aside.

Rinse grape leaves several times. If the leaves are small, leave them intact, but cut out the large center vein. If the leaves are large, cut them in half vertically, cutting out the large vein in the process.

Place a small amount of the ground meat mixture at the end of each leaf. Roll up egg-roll style.

Pour the oil into the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Lay the chops over the oil. Lay the tomato slices over the chops.

Place the stuffed grape leaves seam-side down on top of the chops. Pack the leaves tightly and begin a second layer when necessary. Place whole garlic cloves randomly between the rolled leaves; plenty of garlic on each layer.

When you are done stacking, pour the lemon juice over the leaves, and add water to the pot to about 2-inches above the rolled leaves. To prevent the leaves from unrolling during cooking, place a plate on top of the stack of leaves and place a heavy object on top of the plate.

Simmer the leaves over low heat for about 2 hours.

Invert the entire Dutch oven into a large platter with high sides (i.e. a 12-inch round cake pan). Or, remove the leaves from the pot with tongs. Serve rustic style, with plenty of Arabic bread on which to spread the garlic!

The recipes for this program, which were provided by contributors and guests who may not be professional chefs, have not been tested in the Food Network's kitchens. Therefore, the Food Network cannot attest to the accuracy of any of the recipes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Recipe courtesy Laura Turcotte
TVFN, Calling All Cooks, Show #CA1C24: Stuffed Grape Leaves/Cran-Oat Scones

neris@xxxxxxx

Mediterranean@yahoogroups.com

5/26/2001 10:22 PM

Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

1/2 lb Grape leaves

1 lb Finely chopped onion

1 cup Rice

1 cup Olive oil

1 batch Finely chopped dill

1 batch Finely chopped mint

Juice from 1 lemon

Briefly dip grape leaves in boiling water then rinse them with cold water and wipe dry.

Mix the onions with half the olive oil. After a while, mix in the rice, 250mL hot water and the remaining ingredients, except for the oil and the lemon juice. Boil the mixture for 4 to 5 minutes.

Wrap one tablespoon of the mixture with a grape leaf and repeat until completed. Carefully place the dolmathes in a pot with some space between them. Cover the dolmathes with a plate and add the rest of the oil and the lemon juice with 500mL of water.

Boil at low heat for 30 minutes, until some water is absorbed and the rice is done. Serve cold with slices of lemon.

Serves 4

Tue, 12 Nov 2002 10:43:16 -0500

alt.cooking-chien Duckie

RecipesLostandFound@yahoogroups.com

Duckie <jmstwn1607@xxxxxx>

11/14/2002 12:02 PM

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Stuffed Grape Leaves (Sarma U Vinovom Lischu)

Ingredients

1 pound beef and pork, ground together

2 onions

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup rice

1 sprig dill, chopped fine

Washed grape leaves

Instructions

Fry onions in hot fat. Add meat and fry until blood disappears.

Cool mixture slightly and then add egg, rice, seasoning and chopped dill. Mix together thoroughly.

Place 1 tablespoon of mixture in a grape leaf and wrap up in Sarma fashion.

Place Sarma in deep pan, put 2 tablespoons hot oil, put 2 tablespoons flour and fry together. Remove from fire, add 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 cup hot water. Blend and pour over Sarmas. Many prefer to serve it with sour cream.

Servings: 4

http://www.yugoslavia.com/Culture/HTML/yu.html

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:00:17 -0400

alt.cooking-chien "CHI-MUM"

RecipesLostandFound@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sun Jun 4, 2006 8:57 am (PDT)

From: "Duckie ®" jmstwn1607@xxxxxx

Subject: INTERNATIONAL CLASSICS M/N/O

Grape Leaf Pickles

Since grape leaves are supposed to be picked in early summer and I am usually canning pickles later in the summer, I suppose one would have to use blanched, frozen leaves in pickles.

OR

Since I am not eating these grape leaves, but using them for their firming properties, I will just pick the bigger, tougher leaves of late summer.

This recipe uses a 4 gallon crock to ferment the pickles.

10-20 grape leaves
10-12 dill heads
1 oz. pickling spices
20 lb. pickling cucumbers
1 lb. pickling salt
2 cups white vinegar, 5 percent acidity
2 gallons water

Scald a 4 gallon crock. Line bottom with washed grape leaves, half the dill, and 1/2 pickling spices. Fill with washed cukes, remove blossom end. Fill to within 3-inch of top and add rest of dill and spice, cover with grape leaves.

Make a brine of the salt, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil and cool. Pour over cukes. Cover/weight down with a plate and clean rock or canning jar filled with water and sealed to hold down contents below brine.

Remove scum daily. Keep at 70-80 degrees. Fermentation should take 10-14 days.

When cured, make fresh brine, bring to a boil, and cool. Pack cukes into sterilized jars, brine over and seal. Store in fridge.

If cukes are fully cured, you may use hot brine and water bath for 15 minutes.


Linda Lou, WA 8-13-2001
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/203022

How to Preserve Grape Leaves

Summer is here and now is the time to harvest those grape leaves to eat at their tender best.

My son, Patrick, and I just did this. He showed me a spot near our backyard where he and my husband strung three strands of new barb wire fence for the horses last year. It's a perfect trellis for grapes. Most of the old grapes have thick vines and go to the tops of the trees, where I'm lucky to even see the leaves. But these are young plants taking advantage of that nice trellis. We picked a good mess. We all sampled the fresh leaves and agreed not to put them in a salad. Though young and fairly tender, they have a bit of a bitter taste.

Here is some information I gathered and edited for clarity.

--------------------------------

Fox grapes are wild grapes. They make clusters like regular grapes and the leaves are the same, maybe not quite as large. The berries are about the size of large green peas, starting out green and turn almost black when ripe. There is not a lot of flesh as they are very seedy and if left on the vine until fully ripened in late fall, very sweet. The berry makes an excellent jelly.
Patsy, LA 4-12-2003
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/204281

Claim is that 'table grape' leaves have less acidity than wine grapes, so the sweeter the grape the more mellow the leaves, as a rule of thumb - of course.
sneaky pete 7-13-1997
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/006329


Pick leaves early in their growth period - that is early summer - when vines are well covered with leaves.

Choose leaves of medium light colour, not too young. If vines have been sprayed, wait for a period recommended for general harvest by manufacturer of insecticide. When picking, snip off stem.

Wash leaves and stack in piles of 24, with shiny side up. Roll up and tie with string.

Prepare jars. Wash, sterilize and hold in hot water until ready to use.

Make a brine of 8 cups water boiled with 1 cup rock salt. Keep hot.

In another pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil with 1/4 cup salt. Drop in 4 bundles at a time, return to boil and blanch for 3 minutes, turning rolls over to blanch evenly. Lift out, drain and pack rolls upright in warm sterilized jars. Pour hot brine over leaves, remove air bubbles and seal. Hold in water bath and repeat with remaining rolls. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Brine is sufficient for 20 bundles of leaves. Increase according to quantity being preserved.

From Charmaine Solomon in "The Complete Middle Eastern Cookbook"
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/032896
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/032897

Grape leaves, either freshly prepared or preserved in brine, can be frozen. So if you don't like to can, you could freeze the leaves after blanching and draining.

Grape leaves are very forgiving. They are hard to ruin.
carol 6-15-1999
http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/032896