LINGONBERRY JELLY ROLL

      I took this jelly roll recipe from Paul Dean's The Lady and Son's Just Desserts Cook Book, which I borrowed from the library. Aside from a million great desserts that are so easy to make, there are some really great and inspiring personal stories. Apparently Paula Dean was agoraphobic. Can you believe? Paula? But one day she decided to "live her life to the fullest" and thank god she did. What would the world do without the Butter Queen?

     I never made a jelly roll cake before and this seems like a technique that should be learned from Grandma and practiced. Baking the cake was pretty simple. Its a really light and fluffy, butterless cake, meant to let the jam flavor shine. And it only takes 10 minutes to bake. It was the cake rolling that was hard to interpret from the recipe directions. While still warm you have to roll the cake into a lint-free towel sprinkled with powdered sugar, let it cool, unroll, spread the jam, then re-roll. Well it worked out. 

    I used lingonberry jelly in it, which I don't think would be Paula's first choice, but I love lingonberries because they are like exotic cranberries. Lingonberries are tarter than they are sweet, so don't expect a sweet jelly roll cake if you use for lingonberries, but thats the fun, you can use any jelly you want. Mike felt that lingonberry jam was not the best choice because of its tartness, but there is no jelly roll cake left, so I am not too worried about it. It might be fun to do a red velvet roll cake or a black forest roll cake. 

Click here to go to Food Network for Paula Dean's Old South Jelly Roll Cake recipe.

Experiment with fun jams from Beth's Farm Kitchen, who make fig jam, gingered peaches jam, blood orange marmalade and many more.

DAIRY FREE CREPES WITH LINGONBERRIES

We can all agree that food poisoning equals the worst couple of days of your life. The one and only time that I was rendered incapacitated from food was when I had crepes at a place that I now call, the Crapeteria. For a while the very idea of crepes made me nauseous, until I went to Paris. I took a break from my five croissants a day habit and opted one afternoon for crepes. Instead of ordering sweet, I ordered savory and was very disappointed. So I made myself feel better with another croissant. Then in Moab, Utah, of all places, I discovered the wonderful Lingonberry, served to me at the Jail House Cafe as a topping for my pancakes. This Swedish berry jam is sweet and tart and perfect for crepes. One weekend I found some lingonberries in Honesdale, Pennsylvania at the Alpine, a German Butcher. When I got back to the house, I tried to make them. I hit another bump in the road. Butter.  I should have known better than to follow a Paula Dean recipe: "All right ya'll, we're gonna start with a whole stick a butter." The crepes came out really well, buttery, and I think I had a mini heart attack. For the record, we ate them all. After adjusting the butter content, omitting the sugar, and making it dairy-free, I figured out this easy recipe, that I make almost every Saturday morning.  And, after searching the local farmer's market in Union Square for more lingonberries and not having any luck, the lovely lady at Beth's Farm Kitchen, which offers a variety of local jams, told me that they sell lingonberries at IKEA, near the swedish meatballs. I haven't tried them yet, because I seriously stocked up at the Alpine, but when I get some curtains, I will let you know how they are.

DAIRY FREE CREPES

3 Eggs

1 1/3 C. Soy Milk 

3/4 C. Flour

2 TBSP. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

1 pinch Salt

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl. Don't over mix. Its okay if its lumpy. Let the batter sit for 20 minutes. Melt a little butter in a round non-stick pan heating on medium. Ladle about 1/4 C. of the batter onto the hot pan and roll the pan around so the batter spreads so its  thin and even. When it starts pulling from the sides, flip it, using your fingers or a spatula. Serve with lingonberries or any jam.

Other toppings: 

Sugary lemon butter (juice of 1 lemon, 1 TBSP sugar, 1/2 TBSP butter - melted) 

Maple Brown Sugar Bananas (1 banana, 1 TBSP maple syrup, 1 TBSP brown sugar - sautee until melted and gooey) 

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