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richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
I baked Swedish Tea Rings this morning and I am shipping one to a friend in New York. A couple questions as I've never shipped something like this: Would you do the icing glaze and let it set, or include a package of the glaze to drizzle on after it arrives? And, how to pack for shipping so that it doesn't fall apart, stays fresh (I'm afraid sealing in plastic and then sitting in hot delivery trucks, the icing would must melt off and look rather bleak)?

Fruit amazing fruit at the groceries finally. I literally stopped in my tracks passing the nectarines, the perfume was heavy in the air. They're like eating fizzy sunshine, they are so sweet and juicy it is unbelievable. I'm thinking Nectarine Cinnamon Pie. But then I just baked tea rings and also did a Custard Fruit Tart with strawberries, blueberries ($1/pint at the grocery!!!), bananas, grapes, and bing cherries. Can't wait to dive into that after dinner. But I had my cart absolutely piled with beautiful ripe fruits: plums, nectarines, peaches (although it's still too early for good peaches, these were hard as a rock; each year I start buying a couple to test if they'll ripen before I buy in any quantity, pineapple, grapes, blueberries, strawberries ($1.67/qt), blackberries, etc. I made a beautiful fruit salad and placed big scoops of it on a bed of baby spinach, dressed it with tarragon vinaigrette, and sprinkled it liberally with roasted sea-salt pecans. So wonderful. The other half actually commented on it and said "this is amazing!" Miracles still do happen. smileys/wink.gif

I baked a rather unusual casserole to use up last weeks ham. I wanted to do something different that the usual, so I made ham and onion enchiladas in green chili sauce with two cheeses. The grocery also had huge ripe avocados 3 for $5 and I made the house guac with 5 different minced chilies, chopped fresh tomatoes, wads of diced cilantro, diced Vidalia onions (soaked in ice water and drained to remove the nasty raw onion taste), lime juice, adobo salt, and garlic. I served that with steamed asparagus with lime butter, chips, and beer. We oinked on that. The ham enchiladas in green chili sauce were really good! It's going in my repertory of what to do with leftover ham (or as the old saying goes, "How do you define eternity? Answer: Two people and a ham).

In the herb garden, I'm trying a new (to me) basil this year: Cardinal Basil. It looks so different than the Genovese that I normally grow for pesto (we inhale pesto at this house in the summers). It's a very different looking plant and leaf and gets showy red feathery plumes on top. When I slightly rub a leaf between my fingers, it smells very similar to thai basil. It will be very interesting trying this new basil in pesto this summer. It is about read for my first batch. Anyone else tried cardinal basil? Other uses you like using it for?

 
Yer killin' me! First the frosting/glaze. . .

I'd ship it in a bag and give instructions on how to drizzle on. Then you won't have to worry about the Tea Rings looking sad when they are opened. I'd wrap in plastic wrap and then place that in a decent weight ziplock or other plastic bag--don't forget the icing!

Next: I want to eat all of the stuff you describe1

Your fruit sounds wonderful! If it tastes as good as you describe the smell and look of them, you will be getting better store-fruit than I can get here in Southern California. Our peaches are hard and scent-less, and if they don't have a good scent, they always taste sour. Plums? Rock hard and poor flavor.--and that fruit salad sounds like just the ticket for our heat-wave (thank goodness it is not humid and hot!).

Those green enchiladas with ham and green onions sound delicious. I have never thought of filling enchiladas with ham, and your combo sounds great. And for avocados, this is a good year for avocados here. They are great tasting and plentiful, BUT I can only get the great prices at the Mexican/latin American store around here. The supermarkets came down just a little at the beginning of the season and are refusing to go any lower; sounds like "Polly wanna make a big profit" to me.

I have not tried Cardinal basil. If it smells like Thai basil, how about making a batch of fried rice and throwing in a bunch of chopped basil at the end. This adds a great flavor and wonderful scent to fried rice.

 
Agree with keeping the icing separate. I put it in disposable pastry bags, tie that off & put

IT inside a ziplock baggie just for security. Then all the recipient has to do is snip off the end and ice. Or not.

On to the shipping package. You'll need to work with me here because this is a visual:

1. YOUR cake is on a round cardboard base (say 8") and covered well with in Saran Wrap or foil.
2. Shipping box base is 2" LARGER, so 10" square. Height depends on your cake.
3. Cut a heavy piece of corrugated cardboard into a 10" square. This will fit tightly into the bottom of the box.
4. On the four corners, measure inward 1 1/8" and "score" a shallow 45" diagonal cut to each edge. You'll do this on each corner.
5. Flip over, center your cake and put a dab of glue to hold cake base to cardboard base.
6. Press the four corners inward and up against the round cake base. It should be tight fit. Now you have a square base with corners pressing in to hold the cake cardboard in place without shifting.
7. Lower cake into box. If it's really delicate, put bubble wrap on the bottom...the cardboard base should keep everything square.
8. Add icing package and more packing bubbles.
9. Send off with love and affection, possibly a dose of insulin.

 
Thanks all for the help!

Swedish Tea Ring is speeding its way to NY and hopefully packaged very well after the engineering plans.

I cannot wait to try the Cardinal Basil and I didn't know the flowers are good to eat as well! The scent is absolutely amazing.

And now I want African Blue Basil!

 
mistral, this time of year

our fruits start coming up from the south as the season progresses. We don't get much California produce during this time of the year. And since we're so close and the shipping is literally hours away, the fruits start becoming RIPE at the market instead of the plastic/rock faux-fruit that we get other times of the year. End of June into July is absolutely amazing as the local fruit starts pouring into the markets.

And BTW, I was just reading this history of Cincinnati produce production. Before the 60's, Cincinnati produced nearly all of the vegetables and greens for the markets and flowers for the florists in greenhouses for this entire region. When the interstate highway connected California to the Midwest, it killed the Cincinnati greenhouses. A few of them are still there, but they've evolved to growing fancy indoor tropicals, and bedding vegetables and flowers plants. The largest concentration of them, nearly all Cincinnati Germans, were located behind Spring Grove Cemetery in what was known as "Dutch Shoe Hollow." Dutch being the Americanized version of Deutsch, of course.

 
Food porn!

Richard, My heart beat faster and faster as I read your descriptions. Respirations increased. Eyes focused. And a huge smile appeared! Thanks so much for sharing! Colleen

 
Bees absolutely love African Blue Basil!

In Florida it thrives all year. We've had to cut it back several times but our plant is almost four years old. It was planted when we moved in. The leaves are not quite as tender as globe but still pleasant in salads and excellent in Liquid Love.

 
We have a grower at our Farmer's Market who has delicious peaches, just like the olden days.

However, folks line up at her booth 30 minutes before the market opens and they will stand in line for an hour in the hot sun. This grower is very fussy and will not put out a bruised peach and she checks each one she puts into your container. It takes forever.
I cannot stand in the sun that long, so I go across the way to another grower whose peaches can be hit and miss.Some are bruised, many are mealy, taste is OK. Red Havens are in right now, but they are not my favorite. I wait for the O"Henry's! I gently pick my way through the peaches and generally come home with some nice ones.

 
The freestones have just come into season here in the Carolinas. We pass one of the

largest orchards on our way to and from the beach so had great peaches last week going and now have them on our return.
I made the peach jam/preserves for our breakfasts last week from clings I got a month ago and will now make a couple of more batches with what comes next. I particularly LOVE red havens for jam and white peaches for just eating.
The "secret" to a good peach is for it to be picked ripe AND then not refrigerated (as it is in supermarkets). They just turn mealy after refrigeration, like tomatoes do also.
There was a sign on the peach stand with the explanation of why the peaches are late--and misshapen (looked like "peaches" to me!! LOL). We had two cold snaps in January and March that did it apparently.

How peaches "grow"
http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2016-03-16/Local_News/Great_year_predicted_for_SC_peaches.html

 
Peaches need to sit a day or so on the counter to hopefully sweeten--even the ones

I got at the orchard. If they have zero aroma in the store, they will just never be good.
Hate to say it, but once eastern peach season is over, I'm done with peaches for the year--can't stand to be disappointed

 
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