Barely time for Berries

I am supposed to have frozen away liters and liters of berries by now, but it hasn't happened! So much has gone on that has prevented my berry picking and our larder will not be quite full this winter ;) Thankfully we have had a warm August and it has given the blueberries and lingonberries an extended season! When I have the time (like the day before yesterday) I will go out and pick a few liters. I have barely a liter of lingonberries though, so I will probably go out and pick more today. When Laura Conover was here from the US, we took the boat to "Big Isand" (vs. Small Island which is not far from it) and picked Havtornbar (or Sea-Buckthorn berries). They are known as a miracle fruit, chock full of vitamin C and only found naturally growing in northern Europe and parts of Asia. In the US we have buckthorns, but not sea-buckthorns. They are a sunny orange berry that grows in tight clusters on thorny bushes. That means they are a literal pain to pick! Thankfully, because they are so strong, you do not need much! We have about 4 liters in our freezer, which will probably be enough for Frank and I.

Fia taught me how to make Fruit Soup yesterday with Havtornbar. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be! You simply put about a 3/4 cup of whole berries to 3 liters of water (you can use more or less berries depending on the fruit you use. Since we were using Havtornbar, which are quite potent, it requires less berries!) and bring it to boiling point. Before it starts bubbling, pull it off the burner and pour the water and berries through a strainer into a bowl. Mash the berries in the strainer until as much juice is out of them as you can get. Add sugar to taste (and more water if it is too strong). Pour the mixture back into the pot and bring to simmering point again. In a seperate bowl mix 4-8 tablespoons of potato starch with cold water. More starch = thicker soup. (Thick soup is actually called "kräm"... between a soup and a sauce and usually eaten cold) Slowly add potato starch mix to soup, stirring all the while, until it reaches your desired thickness. Do not let soup boil long as it diminishes the vitamins, and can also cause the soup to thin out! When it is done, let it cool a bit and add a sprinkle of whole berries. With Havtornsoppa/sea-buckthorn soup Fia usually puts sea-buckthorn berries, and/or chunks of bananas! With blueberry soup she usually adds some whole blueberries and raspberries. Enjoy this treat warm or cold with cream, over ice cream, or even in porridge!


 Update: I made some on my own using corn starch instead of potato starch. It came out ok, but the cornstarch leaves a hint of a starchy taste that the potato starch does not leave.

I made Frank's family's 'famous' bread all by myself yesterday, and it came out quite edible :) Usually I have Frank lend me a hand when it comes to how sticky the dough should be. It is a quite runny and sticky dough when compared to my mom's "just bread" recipe, and it is made into rolls so it can be a bit tricky! Frank will think I over floured the batch, but they were so sticky I am just glad they look and taste like bread! :D