Why people call my husband a lucky man

This was actually the second four leaf clover that Howie found during our fabulous weekend-with-friends on Chesapeake Bay. The first one he let the Jellybean bring back to show everyone; she promptly lost it in--you guessed it--the grass; so that was a remarkably ephemeral pleasure. Apparently, according to one of our friends, it's not that hard to find a four-leaf clover, but it does take a kind of dharmic approach--an illustration of this slogan:
Abandon all hope of fruition.
Howie agreed. You can look and look and look for the four-leafer; as long as you're striving, it will elude you. But if you just let go and look at the grass, within a pretty short time you find that you are just looking. at. a. four. leaf. clover.

But I take it back; that's not a really good illustration of the slogan, because I have just implied that if you abandon all hope of fruition, you will be rewarded with fruition. Sorry! Not necessarily.

The method described above, though, is the more happy-making method of seeking a four-leaf clover.

It doesn't hurt to follow up with strawberry shortcakes, though.

The Charminge Towne near (if ten miles is near) the house we stayed had one somewhat miserable grocery, that didn't even have Bisquick--the shortcake ingredient recommended to me by Our Friend Who Knows such things (I didn't even eat a biscuit until sometime in my twenties--I always thought of them as a goyish thing, but now I know that--even if that is true--it won't do to let the Gentiles keep their claim on that kind of good stuff). So I got Jiffy Mix instead, and the shortcakes were pretty fine, because the berries were mighty fine.

That whet my appetite, though, and when we got back from the trip, I bought local berries from our second-favorite (because not organic) local farm, and made my favorite shortcake. This is an adaptation from a recipe by Deborah Madison, but that was for a cobbler recipe. I use this for cobblers and shortcake. If you make it with the vanilla bean, it's better than with the extract ...

Shortcake
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. superfine sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbl. butter
1/4 c. half-and-half cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 Tbl. sugar in a medium bowl. If using vanilla bean, split it lengthwise and use the tip of a paring knife to scrape the seeds into the dry ingredients, and then use fingers to rub them into the mixture. Add butter, cut into small pieces, and cut into dry ingredients until mixture is the texture of cornmeal. Beat together the cream and egg, adding the vanilla extract if using it. Add to dry mixture, reserving about a Tbl. to glaze the shortcakes later. Stir together until almost all combined with a fork; then turn mixture onto a board and knead briefly just until it all comes together smoothly. Then shape into a circle, about 1/3" thick and 7" diameter. Cut into 6 wedges; brush with reserved egg and cream; sprinkle tops lightly with additional sugar. Remove to a foil-lined baking sheet and bake about 13 minutes, or until just starting to color on top. Cool on racks; split to fill with sliced, sugared berries and top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
These shortcakes freeze well. Reheat 30 seconds in a microwave.

Comments

[kelly]

oops...hit return before i filled it out...sorry...

When I was a kid I found 4-leafers all the time, had a huge collection of them pressed between the pages of my Children's Illustrated Bible...which is all I ever used that book for. I think by the time I stopped collecting I had over 60 of them - no idea what ever happened to them.

Strawberries! In a few more weeks we'll be in picking season here in Ohio, and I can't wait to put up some jam! but the shortcake. Oh. my. maude. yes.

[Chris]

Damnit! Now I'm hungry!

[Lee]

I thought Vanilla was the first name of a rapper, I had no idea it was a bean. Is it an "ice, ice", cold bean?