At Your Service; Serviceberries are not just for the birds!

by Signe Langford

Also known as Saskatoon berry and June berry, these tasty tidbits got the name Serviceberry from settler days; when the trees were in bloom, it meant the traveling church services were coming to town.

I love this shrubby tree so much I could have acres and acres of it; and if I had acres and acres of it, I’d still want more. The flowers are pretty and delicate, and they bloom early, which is nice for the pollinators. The fruit is delicious and prolific; the berries are prized by robins, waxwings, and squirrels, so any I can’t reach get eaten up, while any windfalls go to my hungry hens. And in the fall, the leaves turn pretty yellowy-red-orange.

Photograph by Signe Langford

The berry isn’t strongly flavoured like a raspberry; it’s more subtle, somewhere between cherry and blueberry. The riper it is, the softer, darker, and more flavourful it becomes. When I crunch down on the tiny seeds, my mouth fills with the taste of marzipan, which is a real treat! The berries are perfect for jams, compotes, pancakes, fruit salads; really, anywhere you might include blueberries or cherries. But, more often than not, I simply stand under my trees, picking and eating, and giving the squirrels the stink eye.

In the garden, it’s pretty tolerant, but it does best with lots of sun, and it doesn’t like being thirsty. Treat it like a shrub or tree and prune it into the desired habit. Plant several, about two to three feet apart for a beautiful edible fence.

Photographs by Signe Langford

Serviceberry 101

Amelanchier alnifolia–Alder-leafed Serviceberry, Saskatoon berry
A. canadensis–Shadblow, Shadbush
A. laevis—Allegheny Serviceberry
A. stolonifera–Running Serviceberry
Zones 3–9
Height to 25 ft/7.5 m
Spread to 30 ft/10 m
Sun to part shade
Acidic, fertile, moist, well-draining soil (A. alnifolia tolerates alkaline soil)

Photograph by Signe Langford

Serviceberry Lemon Olive Oil Pancakes

Baking sweet things with olive oil is something that many of us North Americans come to later in life…usually after someone from Italy, Greece, the Middle East, or North Africa smacks us upside the head! Seriously, baking with olive oil is worth a little smack upside the head.

These easy pancakes are lemony and rich and generously studded with serviceberries. If you can’t find Serviceberries or Saskatoons, blueberries will do nicely.

If maple sugar is unavailable, use brown sugar.

Ingredients:

1–1 1/3 cups (250–330 mL) flour

¼ cup (60 mL) sugar

3 Tbsp (45 mL) maple sugar

2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

½ tsp (2 mL) sea salt

1 cup (250 mL) whole milk, buttermilk, or plain kefir

3 Tbsp (45 mL) lemon olive oil, plus more for frying

1 free-run egg

1 cup (250 mL) fresh or frozen serviceberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200F (100C) and leave a baking sheet or oven-proof dish in there to keep pancakes warm, batch by batch.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a small bowl, beat egg thoroughly then add milk (or buttermilk), oil, and combine thoroughly.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly add the egg-milk mixture. Add the melted butter and vanilla. Stir quickly until ingredients are just mixed and batter is still lumpy in appearance. Add the berries and fold in, just to combine.

Drop by quarter cupfuls on an oiled, medium-hot pancake griddle or non-stick pan; cook until bubbles appear on top and the under-side is golden brown. Turn and brown the other side.

Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Serves 2 – 4

This post was written by Signe Langford

Signe Langford is a restaurant-chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes. She is a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and Garden Making magazines. In 2105, Signe published her first book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden- with 100 Recipes. 

Raised in the town of Hudson, Quebec Signe grew up surrounded by an ever changing menagerie of critters, both wild and domestic, and her special affection for all feathered creatures has never flagged. At present, she shares a downtown Toronto Victorian with a tiny flock of laying hens. For more stories and recipes please visit www.signelangford.com

Walking on Eggshells; Fun with Spent Shells in the Garden, Kitchen, and Craft Studio

Photo by Signe Langford

By Signe Langford

The old adage is true; you do have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. But if you break the eggs carefully, there are a few fun things you can do with the shells too!

Okay, most of us gardeners already know the value of saving eggshells for the garden. They’re made of calcium – which plants need to thrive – and when crumbled up, they’ve got sharp edges that wreak havoc on those tender-bodied-but-tenacious snails and slugs. Shell shards are especially helpful all around the base of delicious hostas! Dig them into the soil around tomato plants to help stave off blossom end rot, too.

In the kitchen and craft studio, eggshells can enjoy a decorative and functional second life as mosaics, jewellery, candles, seedling pots, and even tiny serving dishes! For the last three crafts – candles, seedling pots, and dishes – the key is making a clean break. Thankfully, there’s a tool for that: it’s called an “egg topper” and there are a few on the market. I’ve only used this one from Swissmar, and I’ve found it works well, but only on cooked eggs; the shell needs the inner support of cooked white for a clean cut. Once you’ve mastered topping eggs, you’ll have some perfect specimens for playing with.

Photo by Signe Langford

Start Seedlings: Simply fill each eggshell with soil, plant the seeds, water, top up with a little more soil, and set them where you usually start seedlings – somewhere warm and sunny. Save the egg carton to hold them in, and set the egg carton on a plastic tray or pan, as they will leak. I have a couple of ceramic egg holders that look great on the windowsill!

When it’s time to transplant into the garden bed or pots, no need to take the delicate seedling out of its first home; just dig a hole big enough to accommodate the shell and all. I like to tap the bottom on a rock or something hard enough to crack the shell; that makes it easier for the roots to bust through. Tomatoes love getting started this way; that extra dose of calcium right from the get-go is just what the doctor ordered.

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

Candles: If you’ve never made candles before, you’ll want to watch a tutorial on YouTube or take a class, and you’ll need to buy a few supplies, but it’s really very simple. I made mine with pure beeswax – the aroma is wonderful, they’re the healthiest and cleanest for burning, and when it’s dead, it’s still fine to add to the garden. So, stand the eggshells up – again, use the handy-dandy egg carton – add the wick, and gently pour in the melted wax, let cool, then trim off any excess wick. That’s all there is to it!

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

Serving Dishes: Gorgeous little eggshell cups look amazing on the table filled with custard, fancy truffled scrambled eggs topped with a pinch of caviar, or even lined with chocolate and filled with mousse. Mother’s Day brunch will never be the same!

Here’s how you do it: invest in an egg topper or another sharp eggshell-cutting tool specifically designed to cleanly slice the tops off boiled eggs. As mentioned earlier, I have one from Swissmar that does the job. It works well with boiled eggs, either soft or hard, but with raw eggs, it tends to shatter the shell. once you’ve got a nice clean-cut edge, you’ll need to wash out the shell until it’s squeaky clean. Do this under just-warm, gently running water. If you use hot water, you’ll cook any remaining egg right onto the shell. As you wipe inside the shell with a finger – very carefully – look for a tear or lifted bit of the inner membrane; you’ll need to peel this out. But don’t worry, once you find a loose bit, it comes out super-easily. Once the membrane is out, give the shells one last rinse and set upside down on a cooling rack to dry thoroughly. Always prepare more eggshells than you need, in case of breakage.

Here’s my Recipe for Teeny Tiny Lemon Meringues en Coquille d’Oeuf. This dessert is about as sweet and adorable as a fluffy baby chick, and absolutely perfect for brunch.

About the author:

Signe Langford is a restaurant-chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes. She is a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and Garden Making magazines. In 2105, Signe published her first book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden- with 100 Recipes. 

Raised in the town of Hudson, Quebec Signe grew up surrounded by an ever changing menagerie of critters, both wild and domestic, and her special affection for all feathered creatures has never flagged. At present, she shares a downtown Toronto Victorian with a tiny flock of laying hens. For more stories and recipes please visit www.signelangford.com

Photographer Donna Griffith is based in Toronto. She has taken photographs of food and drink, homes and gardens for a number of publications and books.

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A Garden to Dye For!

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

By Signe Langford

Let’s talk about two of my favourite things: gardening and Easter. I love Eastertime; the chocolate, the return of spring, the chocolate, dying eggs…wait, did I already mention the chocolate?

All kidding aside, give me a natural Easter egg any day over some confection dyed some garish chemical shade of electric pink. We all love the pretty colours of Easter eggs, but there is a way to do it naturally, and from the ground up…literally!

Colouring Easter eggs is fun for everyone, especially the kiddos. Here’s how to do it without chemical, and possibly harmful, dyes. Natural, plant-derived colours are softer and subtler – which I happen to prefer to the brash hues of artificial dyes – and what’s better, you can go one step further and grow some of your own dye-producing plants.

Easter Egg Garden: Grow These Plants for Natural Colours

Beets – the darker the red the better. Grow them in loose soil, in full sun to part shade.

Blueberries – these tasty berries lend a soft blue-grey colour to white eggs. The blueberry shrub does best in acidic soil (between pH 4 and 5), in full sun. If yours aren’t doing so well, try digging some coffee grounds into the soil at the base of the plant.

Photo on the left by Signe Langford. Photo on the right by Jeff Coulson

Blackberries and Raspberries – both of these members of the rubus family grow quickly and spread like weeds. The berries give off a colour ranging from soft, barely there pink to a deeper purplish tone.

Photo by Signe Langford

Boston Ivy and Wild Grapes – either of these prolific climbers might be growing on a fence near you right now! The tiny berries produce a soft purple colour.

Purple or Red Cabbage – these brassicas can thrive all the way north to zone 1. To achieve a soft red colour, boil up the tough outer leaves.

Saffron Crocus – a fall-blooming, true crocus survives as far as zone 5; it needs a sunny spot, in well-drained soil. It’s great as part of a rock garden. Harvest the stigma, dry and use in cooking or for turning white eggs a light orangey-red.

Spinach – this somewhat dainty green prefers loamy soil, in full sun, and at cooler temperatures. Boil and mush up the leaves and stems for a soft and pretty pastel green.

Yellow Cooking Onion – they thrive in almost all soil types, other than hard-packed clay; they need lots of sun. To produce a pinkish-red colour on white eggs, boil the skins. This is how traditional Greek red Easter eggs (kokkina avga) are made.

Of course planting an Easter Egg Garden is something to do now for next year. This Easter, visit a grocery store for everything you need.

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

You’ll Need:  

• white vinegar
• vegetable oil
• white eggs – free run, of course!

Natural Dyes:

• saffron
• turmeric
• undiluted, well-steeped black tea
• undiluted black coffee
• undiluted soy sauce
• oranges, for the peels
• beets, beet juice or leftover brine from pickled beets
• blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries
• yellow cooking onion, for the skins
• spinach
• undiluted red wine
• cranberries
• red or purple cabbage

From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

Here’s How:

• It’s easy to do, and the effect is prettier and more delicate. For the best and strongest results, start with white eggs.

• First, give eggs a wash in cold, running water to remove any natural coating or dirt.

• Add 15 mL (1 Tbsp) of white vinegar for every 250 mL (1 cup) of water in a saucepan. The vinegar is acidic and will etch the calcium of the eggshell, making it more porous and therefore more receptive to the colour. The vinegar will also draw the colour out of whatever dye material you’re using.

• Add the berry, leaf, spice or whatever colour you’re working with, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook it until you like the colour of the water. But remember, if the water is say, dark red, the egg will end up a soft red or dark pink.

• Now add the eggs and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the eggs cool along with the water; the longer you leave the eggs in, the darker they’ll be, up to 24 hours!

• Remove the eggs from the dye bath and set them on a wire cooling rack over a surface you don’t care about: newspaper or old rags. Let them dry completely before handling them.

• When the eggs are bone dry, give them a little polish with a soft rag and a dab of vegetable oil. Not only will they be beautiful, they will be edible! I think they look like polished marble; so pretty and elegant on the table.

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From the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden – with 100 Recipes, ©2015, by Signe Langford, Photography by Donna Griffith. Published by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

I called on my friend, Chef Christine Cushing to share her family’s recipe and her know-how for my book, Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden and I am sharing it again here! Traditionally, the eggs are dyed with onion skins, giving them a very subtle hue indeed. I wanted a little more pizzazz, so I added some beet juice to the water when dying mine.

Chef Christine Cushing's Easter Tsoureki

This post was written by Signe Langford

Signe Langford is a restaurant-chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes. She is a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and Garden Making magazines. In 2105, Signe published her first book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden- with 100 Recipes. 

Raised in the town of Hudson, Quebec Signe grew up surrounded by an ever changing menagerie of critters, both wild and domestic, and her special affection for all feathered creatures has never flagged. At present, she shares a downtown Toronto Victorian with a tiny flock of laying hens. For more stories and recipes please visit www.signelangford.com