Cranachan #FoodieReads

I am posting this after reading the August selection for my book group: Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult. I won't be able to attend the meeting since we will be traveling that week, but I read the book in two sittings and was inspired to make this new-to-me dish.

On the Page

This book is highly recommended by several reading friends and it is certainly a compelling story. But I will be spilling some spoilers, so if you plan to read the book, skip all the way to the recipe if you are so inclined.

This novel tackles issues of domestic violence, transgender surgeries, murder, and more. I think the issues were handled with realism and empathy.

The story is told from two points of view: Lily, a teenage girl who ends up dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs; and Olivia, the mother whose son - Asher - has been arrested and charged with Lily's murder. Here's the spoiler: Lily and Asher were in loving, committed relationship. But the prosecutor paints the picture that Asher kills Lily because he found out that she is transgender and killed her because of it. Several times the statistic of transgender individuals killed by those who are supposed to love them are cited.

Olivia's emotions run the gamut from complete faith that her son is innocent to creeping doubt that maybe he inherited the violent tendencies of his abusive father, Olivia's ex-husband. She simultaneously wants to protect him and wants the truth about what happened to Lily.

Olivia is a beekeeper and the title comes from this... "Mad honey comes from bees that forage on rhododendrons and mountain laurel, and it’s full of poisonous grayanotoxins. It causes dizziness, nausea and vomiting, convulsions, cardiac disorders, and more. Symptoms last for twenty-four hours, and although rarely, if left untreated, can be fatal. It has been used in biological warfare as far back as 399 B.C., to make Xenophon and the Greek army retreat from Persia. During the Third Mithridatic War in 65 B.C., citizens of Pontus placed mad honey on the route taken by Pompey’s soldiers, and when the enemy helped themselves to the treat, they were easily conquered."

The secret weapon of mad honey, of course, is that you expect it to be sweet, not deadly. You’re deliberately attracted to it. By the time it messes with your head, with your heart, it’s too late.

There are many mentions of food in the book. But I was tickled to see Lily mention Cowgirl Creamery: "We went to the Cowgirl Creamery and spent part of the afternoon lying on the lawn sampling all the cheeses: Red Hawk, and Wagon Wheel, and Devil’s Gulch. We drove to the Cypress Tunnel, its arching tree branches interlocked overhead. It looked like a portal to another world." Cowgirl Creamery is one of our family favorites as well!

But the food mention that sent me into the kitchen was this...

I look down at the list of items I’ve scrawled in the notebook. They are not random, I realize; they are the makings of cranachan, an old Scottish dessert that my mother would cook for us every New Year’s Eve. As a child, I always felt so grown-up, being allowed to eat a dish steeped in alcohol. She’d adapted it to use granola instead of oats, bourbon instead of whiskey. While my father took Jordan out to set a brace of fireworks that we’d light at midnight, I stayed with my mother and made parfait cups. It was, and still is, a tradition for me and Asher. A comfort.

In the Glass

During the trial Olivia scribbles ingredients and recipes in her notebook. And this is one that intrigued me: Cranachan. I had never heard of this traditional Scottish dessert.

Olivia mentioned the granola swap, but I did use Scotch whisky instead of Olivia's beloved bourbon. I had some Italian chestnut honey that is distinctive and delicious; but use whatever honey you have on-hand. And I picked up some granola from local-to-me Ad Astra Bread Co.

Ingredients

makes four smaller glasses or two larger glasses

• 3/4 cups granola

• 2 Tablespoons honey

• 2 Tablespoons Scotch Whisky

• 2 cups fresh organic raspberries

• 1-1/2 cups organic heavy chipping cream

• Also needed: glasses for serving

Procedure

In a small mixing bowl, mash the raspberries with a fork, reserving a few whole raspberries for garnish. In another mixing bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in the honey and whiskey and beat till firm peaks form.

Assemble by layering whipped cream with granola and mashed berries. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. You can eat it right away or put it in the fridge for later. We prefer to put it in the fridge, so the granola softens a bit into the cream.

That's a wrap on my offering for the August book group read. I am also linking this to the August #FoodieReads link-up.