A Boodle Of Elderberries

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To fix these dough morsels, I measured out 1 cup of cake flour (3/4 cup of bread flour and one tablespoon of cornstarch could be substituted), 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I mixed these ingredients and sifted them three times to make the dumplings light and airy. Then I filled a 1/2-cup measure with one beaten egg and milk, and stirred that liquid combination into the dry "siftings" to make a stiff batter.

I dropped spoonfuls of the tasty paste into my simmering elder juice and then cooked the dumplings-covered-for two minutes on each side. The last step was to serve the finished elderberry slump with whipped cream . . . and watch the plates get scraped clean!

ELDERBERRY WINE

However, my whole family ate their fill of elderberry slump . . . and I still had lots of juice! So I set out to brew up a batch of that legendary inebriant: elderberry wine. Unfortunately, my earlier vinting attempts had earned me the title of "lil of winewrecker", but I figured the possible reward would certainly be worth the effort, so I altered a simple grape wine recipe that my parents had used into my own formula for elderberry balloon wine.

I started off by sterilizing a gallon jug (to be sure that no vinegar-making bacteria would subvert my efforts) and combining—in this container—1 quart of elderberry juice, 1/4 teaspoon of dry yeast, and 3 cups of sugar. Then I filled the vessel with water and tied a big, heavy balloon—as firmly as possible—over the neck of the jug.

The readily made concoction frothed and bubbled wildly, and the balloon became so inflated I thought it would burst. But it held together somehow, and—amazingly enough—when I took the air bag off six weeks later I had a tart, scarlet berry wine . . . with no vinegar taste!

FROZEN CONCENTRATE

Since my pantry was nigh onto overflowing with elderberry goodies by this time, I decided to freeze the rest of my juice until midwinter .. . when the fruity liquid could be used for special coldweather treats.

I did take measures to save space, though, by placing blocks of frozen juice in cheesecloth and letting the thawing product drip down into storage containers. The elder fluid melted first (leaving the water content still iced), and gave me a low-volume elderberry concentrate to refreeze and put away!

FLOWERS, TOO

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