Cascadian Farm Organic Goodness

Something about the greening of the grass in my backyard spurs the urge to make brunch. Where cold and gray winter mornings have me reaching for a bowl of warm oatmeal, I'm now craving crêpes or a spinach omelet eaten in the morning sun with the day still ahead, just as the summer is yet to come.

It's such cravings that lead to the production of 80 cinnamon rolls as I search for the one I am dreaming of. Of course, now armed with the recipe, it's only right that we should tinker a bit, and what came next was the spreading of blueberry preserves, tucked into an ever-so-lightly lemon-dusted dough and baked into fist-sized puffs of breakfast heaven.

These lemon blueberry rolls take a traditional cinnamon roll dough and introduce it to the brightness of lemon zest and a filling of blueberry preserves. They are a fun and unexpected twist on the classic.

Lemon Blueberry Rolls

1 ¼ cups whole milk

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

10 oz Cascadian Farm Blueberry Fruit Spread

Before baking:

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 teaspoons milk

1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the burner off and add  butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Stir to combine, then continue stirring until the butter melts. Allow the mixture to sit until it reaches between 110º and 120º F. Add the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes, until it turns frothy. 

Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and start adding the flour a ½ cup at a time. Once all the flour is incorporated, cover and let it rise in the bowl for one full hour. Punch down the dough and knead lightly. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread the blueberry preserves over the entire surface and roll into a long tube. Cut 1 1/2" sections from the tube for the rolls. Place 2” apart on a parchment-lined sheet or in a baking dish. Allow to rise for 45-60 minutes. The dough will continue to rise after you put it in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425º. Beat together egg and water and brush over the tops of the rolls. Bake for 8-12 minutes, remove from oven.

Mix together all glaze ingredients. Drizzle lightly over warm rolls. Serve warm or up to 24 hours later if stored in an airtight container.

Makes 20 cinnamon rolls.

Photo by Shaina Olmanson

I recently headed up to the Cascadian Farm Home Farm while I was on a trip out to Seattle. As I’ve said before, there’s something magical to me in the whole farm-to-table aspect where I go and pick my own food, bring it home and cook with it.

I can’t say enough how hard it hits home to me in this day and age where so much of our food comes in boxes and Styrofoam packages and is purchased from antiseptic shelves in a large store. Sometimes it’s hard for me with four kids to get out and do the hands-on farm activities that I grew up with, so I try to give my children those activities in the backyard in our family garden. However, berry season is one time of the year where getting out to local farms and picking can and does happen. The strawberries are always sweeter, juicier and tastier.

Cascadian Farm did not disappoint. Surrounded by strawberries being harvested to be sold on the roadside stand, I was instantly comfortable and at home. Farmer Jim instructed us to eat them at will, and he was so accommodating to me, even running to his home to get me a cake pan for my cake. Of course, I was going to let him eat it when it was finished baking.

As strawberry season will soon be ended and raspberry season just beginning, feel free to substitute between the two berries in this recipe for whatever is in season in your area. Have you been to the farm to pick them yet this summer? I can’t wait to tell you more about my trip and experience.

Strawberry-Lemon Coffee Cake

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar whisked in)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon cardamom

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, diced (or whole raspberries)

1 lemon, zested

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

Juice from 1 lemon above

Preheat oven to 350º F and grease a 9x13 baking pan. Cream together sugar, butter and egg. In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk and the baking soda, then mix into the creamed butter and sugar. Mix together flour, cardamom and salt and then slowly blend into the wet mix. Fold in diced strawberries and lemon zest.

Bake at 350º F for 35-40 minutes until top springs back when touched. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, stir powdered sugar with half the juice from the lemon. Continue adding juice until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle lightly over the cake and serve warm.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson