viagra online viagra online viagra online without prescription generic viagra viagra online viagra online viagra online without prescription generic viagra

Strawberry shortcake, an “old standby” in New England

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]One of the many books picked up at the Friends of the Athenaeum spring book sale was Arrowhead Farm: Three Hundred Years of New England Husbandry and Cooking.

That was quite a hefty title for the 217-page book, but it sounded interesting.

For 75 cents, it couldn’t be passed up, especially when it had a recipe in it for old-fashioned strawberry shortcake.

The book told the generations-long story of a farm in Newburyport, Mass.

Authors were Pauline Chase Harrell, Charlotte Moulton Chase and Richard Chase.

They went way back in their family history to write the book. The 300th anniversary of the farm took place in 1981, and the book was published in 1984.

It was a good read but the best part, of course, was the recipes which comprised three quarters of the book.

Apparently, Arrowhead has good land for strawberries, which have been an important crop for years. Naturally, there are recipes for “the old standby,” strawberry shortcake. 

The authors refer to modern spongy cakes as “what a way to ruin a strawberry.”

Instead, here’s what they had to say about their own version of the popular springtime treat: “A good shortcake is made with fresh, ripe strawberries, a good powder biscuit, butter and heavy cream.

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

There are two recipes for strawberry shortcake in the book. While cream can be used, the authors noted that “for 100-percent strawberry flavor, prepare more berries and omit cream. This is the old-fashioned farm way.”

If you don’t feel like whipping real cream, you can also just pour it straight from the carton onto the strawberries and shortcake or use half-and-half.

But, if you want it the old-fashioned way, it means no cream but more berries!

Any way you serve it, it’s scrumptious.

Here’s one shortcake recipe from the book which will have your entire family begging for more.

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

(By the way, a quick check on the internet revealed that Arrowhead Farm still exists and it appears to be doing a fine business to this day.)

Charlotte’s Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups flour
1 quart hulled and chopped strawberries
4 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 cup sugar mixed with berries (let set at room temperature to gather juice)
4 Tablespoons of butter
2/3 cup of milk
Dash of salt

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Lightly rub butter into flour mixture with fingers until coarsely crumbled. Gradually add milk, stirring after each addition until dough forms ball.

Put into shallow cake pan, pushing dough out to edges. Bake in 400 degree oven about 20 minutes. 

Remove from pan, split, butter and cut into wedges. Add strawberries and serve hot with whipped cream or pouring cream. For 100-percent strawberry flavor, prepare more berries and omit cream.

The Arrowhead Farm cookbook didn’t mention greasing the pan for the shortcake, but a quick spray with baking spray cannot do any harm.

Share This Post

Google1DeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspaceRSS
Posted by on August 1, 2013. Filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
viagra online viagra online viagra online without prescription generic viagra viagra online generic viagra accutane buy phentermine viagra online viagra online viagra online without prescription generic viagra