How to Cook a Wolf

Bread for All!

2010-01-13T17:44:00.002-07:00

Photo by Valerie Rodgers Lugonja

"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"

Julia Child

"In Paris today millions of pounds of bread are sold daily, made during the previous night by those strange, half-naked beings one glimpses through cellar windows, whose wild-seeming cries floating out of those depths always makes a painful impression. In the morning, one sees these pale men, still white with flour, carrying a loaf under one arm, going off to rest and gather new strength to renew their hard and useful labor when night comes again. I have always highly esteemed the brave and humble workers who labor all night to produce those soft but crusty loaves that look more like cake than bread."

Alexandre Dumas, French writer (1802-1870)

Here is the humble worker who made that great bread (assisted by his "hand maiden" yours truly).

Photo by Valerie Rodgers Lugonja

We had the pleasure of making bread for Slow Food Edmonton's First Solstice Supper last week to accompany a succulent roast pig. Our hosts Valerie and Vanja hosted a wonderful repast, and Slow Food members brought fantastic dishes that were enjoyed by all. We thought we would share our bread making day with you in pictures. It took almost the whole day and some "starter" time all week to make 12 loaves of bread. We sooooo won't be doing this for a living, but are thankful that some gallant souls still do, to provide bread for us!

It's Just Another Zero

2010-01-03T22:17:00.001-07:00

It happened again. The year on the calendar flipped over to a new number. It has a zero on the end again. Didn't it just have a zero a few years ago? What a difference a decade makes. We were planning for the Y2K (soon to be non) event. I was hedging my bets then, that nothing would happen on that New Years Eve. I didn't even stockpile any food or water. I was on call that night.....just in case the hospitals were overloaded and I had to go in and make sandwiches. Isn't that what we all do when a catastrophe happens.......make sandwiches? We even had battery operated head lights to navigate through the darkened halls. I should have snuck one of those home and took it out and wore it on this New Years Eve! But, I was at the top of a hotel, listening to a great band and dancing like it was 1989.

I try not to make resolutions. Beating myself up for all of the things I don't do is already a hobby of mine and I don't need to add any more ammunition for that battle. I just whisper to myself now and then that I need to watch my inputs and outputs, make sure I am always learning something, and tell the people that share my life how great they are. I think that 2010 will be an awesome year. Even better than 2009, which was stupendous!

The first dessert of 2010 was a recipe from the great dessert blog tartelette. Just browsing through her site is sure to bring a smile to your face, even if you don't attempt the recipes yourself.

Here is my journey through her recipe for Poached Pear and Almond Fallen Souffle Cakes.

Happy New Year!

Remembrance of Things Past

2009-11-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

British War Time Poster

"There are very few men and women, I suspect, who cooked and marketed their way through the past war without losing forever some of the nonchalant extravagence of the Twenties. They will feel, until their final days on earth, a kind of culinary caution: butter, no matter how unlimited, is a precious substance not lightly to be wasted; meats, too, and eggs, and all the far-brought spices of the world, take on a new significance, having once been so rare. And that is good, for there can be no more shameful carelessness than with the food we eat for life itself. When we exist without thought or thanksgiving we are not men, but beasts"
--M.F.K. Fisher How to Cook a Wolf - 1942

When I read MFK Fisher's book How to Cook a Wolf nearly twenty years ago, it was the seed for my belief that "food and fuel" and it's abundance, cannot be taken for granted. Her book described strategies for feeding the soul through a very tough time in history. She described, with humour, how to stretch limited and rationed ingredients and still make good food. Also, how to conserve energy while you were cooking, because you didn't know if the power would be cut off, or a blackout would ensue, or your supply of cooking fuel would end before the next ration book would come. My mother, knew these things intrinsically, because she lived through that war. For me, it has been a learned behaviour to respect food and fuel, because they are a finite resource and shortages still exist today for may people across our globe.

Today is our Day of Remembrance in Canada. In honour of wars past, and to respect that in war torn countries today, food is a sacred resource, I am preparing a recipe from Fisher's book from the Chapter How to Pray for Peace. Here is the recipe, as it is written:

Quick Potato Soup

1/4 pound good butter

4 large potatoes

4 large onions

2 quarts whole milk

salt, pepper, minced parsley (if agreeable)

Melt the butter in a large kettle, or in fireproof casserole in which the soup can be served. Grate the clean potatoes into it. (I like to leave them unpeeled, but the soup is not so pretty unless chopped fresh herbs, added at the last, change its natural whiteness enough to hide the bits of brown skin....) Grate the peeled onions into it....or slice them very thin. Heat the mixture to the bubbling point, stirring well. Then reduce the heat, and cover closely for about ten minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, shaking the pan now and then to prevent sticking. Add more butter (or chicken fat) if it seems wise. Heat the milk to the boiling pot but not beyond, add slowly to the pot, season and serve.

On the stove

I have edited this recipe for modern times and a smaller batch below:

2 oz of butter

3 large potatoes peeled (the size of a baked potato) or 1 1/2 lbs

1 onion (size of a baseball) about 1/2 lb

1 litre of 1% milk

Use a very heavy bottomed pot with a lid, to prevent burning. If you have a good non stick pot with a lid, use that. The grated potatoes thicken the soup so you don't have to use flour.

I suggest that you dice the onions small instead of grating, and then saute first in the butter in the pot until soft. (over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Turn down the heat if the onions start to brown) Then, I added the grated potatoes, and stirred, then covered and cooked, until the potatoes were done. Because I have reduced the butter, I added 4 oz of water to the potatoes and onions, to ensure they didn't stick to the bottom of the pot while they were cooking. Lower the heat so that they do not burn on the bottom. Taste your potato and onion mixture to make sure the potatoes are cooked and not starchy tasting. I microwaved the milk until very hot before adding to the cooked mixture. You can heat through the finished soup on your stove top, but do not turn on high and do not walk away. It cannot boil. I added about 1 tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper. If you like, you can add a powdered chicken or vegetable base to the soup instead of salt. (1 tbsp)

Recipe Cost $2.75 for 6 large bowls. 46 cents each.

Keep the wolf from your door

Eggless in Edmonton

2009-10-17T20:46:00.001-06:00

Simple Morning Pleasures.

I have spent the last 20 years grumbling that my various and sundry offspring were philistines when it came to food. When they were smallish, they would sooner have pasta with no sauce, and hotdogs, than anything that we could whip up in the kitchen. The oldest child, to his credit, was a more adventurous eater, and claimed at a very early age that clam chowder soup was his favourite. The middle child, was a master at clamping his jaws shut and not eating anything that didn't pass his smell test. We were so jaded when the third boy came along, that we were convinced that there was a conspiracy afoot to make sure we didn't eat anything interesting again. When the 2 youngest reached the fine old age of 17 and 19, they magically started eating.......well....things. "Would you like to try pasta with spinach and chicken?" They reply, "I think I will try that!" We had been released from the gulag!

That brings me to the subject of eggs. I always have eggs in my fridge, because I am a last minute baker. On weekend mornings, I usually wake up fairly early, and may....or may not decide to make muffins. This morning, I mixed up my dry ingredients, went to the fridge for the eggs and milk....and found the egg spot empty. Expletives bounced around the kitchen like ping pong balls!

I used to have my egg inventory in control. I was never caught eggless. Recently, the middle child has discovered scrambled eggs. All the years of making eggs on weekends, and he would never eat them. But, when a friend shows him how to make scrambled eggs, he is suddenly a convert. He is now making scrambled eggs....... EVERY MORNING! Even son # 3 has jumped on the band wagon and is scrambling away before going to school. Now that the great egg misconception of the 80's, with all of it's evil cholestrol has been put to bed, I don't admonish them about eating so many eggs, as it is better than sugary cereal, but I have been caught without eggs more times than is acceptable. No more baking on a whim. No more devil may care muffins or quickbreads. I have been robbed!

This morning, my ever gracious husband drove to Sobey's at 7:50 a.m. just to make my complaining stop. He brought back 2 dozen. Later we went for groceries and bought 3 dozen more. That makes 5 dozen! You would think we were farming a section of land with a family of 12.

I made my muffins. Vanilla Pear with a Streusel topping. They were sublime.

I Double Dog Dare You

2009-10-12T10:51:00.000-06:00

Lamentations about early snowfall, cold weather and a crappy week at work were still echoing throughout the house. Looking out from our kitchen window, the trees were still green, and snowflakes were gently falling. The leaves had not had time to turn their cheery shade of yellow, and now were too frozen to fall. We even made the National News, the broadcaster saying it has been the coldest Thanksgiving in the west in fifteen years. Fanfriggin'tastic!

We were planning our Thanksgiving Feast, unsure of how many people would eventually be at the table. It is usually in the neighbourhood of 8 to 12. We will prepare the usual suspects......turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and mix it up with different vegetables. This year it's spaghetti squash from the brother-in-law's garden, sweet potatoes and farmer's market cauliflower. Desserts are an opportunity for creativity, as long as we follow the code of having something that is "not creamy" for one of the regular guests. That is always easy, because we usually make two desserts.

Two of the remaining dishes from our OKFWW throwdown are:

Pecan Crusted Chocolate Pate

from Cellar Door Bistro

Photo from Jennifer CK

Pear and Almond Galette

from the Naramata Inn

Photo from Jennifer CK

We will do a "Twofer" on the same plate.

We have been making chocolate pate for over twenty years, as it was on our restaurant menu "back in the day". We will garnish it with a black currant coulis from our very local (backyard) currant crop.

The Pear and Almond Galette would have to be re-imagined, as we had only our memories to go on.

We used small forelle pears, and packed the cored cavity with homemade almond paste. These were placed on a square of puff dough and then baked in a very hot oven.

We think we did OK. There were plenty of mmmmmmm's around the table.

Thanksgiving Dinner has changed from when we started preparing them for the extended family. Our little boys are now men, and the sippy cups have turned into beer bottles. The conversations around the dining room table have changed, but the conviviality has not. When we were cleaning up the mountain of dishes the next day, we looked at each other and said "still worth it?" Yeah......we have a few more years left in us!

We Were Taking A Break

2009-10-01T19:06:00.004-06:00

My husband and I had decided to take a break. Not a Ross and Rachel kind of break, but a break from our OKFWW throwdown of duplicating all the dishes we ate in Penticton. We had just done 3 dishes on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday was our day of rest. We would rest on our laurels until next weekend. Then, we looked at the weather forecast on Sunday afternoon. FROST! Here in Edmonton, our frost free days, the measure of what can grow in our region, are zealously watched. We will cover up plants in the spring and the fall, just to keep stuff in the ground for as long as we can. We had a big frost in the first part of June this year, so our garden was behind before it even started. We have a delightful assortment of old bedsheets, that we press into action during these nights, and passers' by who may not be gardeners probably shake their heads and say....."those people are deluded. They should just go to the store to get their veggies"

So, here we were on Sunday afternoon, with a dilemma. Cover or pick? We looked at the calendar, and then the long range forecast, and said "There is a time when you have to throw in the bedsheet. It's here".

So, we picked. Four peach boxes full of tomatoes in varying states of ripeness, our peppers, 1 beautiful eggplant and 4 squash blossoms! Three kinds of beets and the shallots........

I brought the basket of vegetables inside and there they were...... the squash blossoms. We knew it would be next August before we saw another squash blossom, and one of our target dishes, from our dinner at the Naramata Inn was

Garden Beets

Goat Cheese foam, squash tempura,

mustard vinaigrette

Naramata Inn Version

We hauled our sorry asses into the kitchen and started cooking.

We had 3 kinds of baby beets, golden, regular and chiogga. They went into a pot to cook

We sent son number 3 to the store to get radish sprouts

We made a vinaigrette with Vinegar Works Apricot Vinegar, canola oil and grainy mustard

We made a goat cheese foam by stick blending chevre and whipping cream together
We made a light tempura batter
We bickered as we put it together

This is our creation. It's a keeper (again)

Another Day Another 2 Imposter Dishes

2009-09-26T22:39:00.017-06:00

"People.....get a life!" No wonder my kitchen floor is so dirty and I don't seem to get my closets organized. We go through manic periods of WAYYYYY TOO MUCH COOKING......... Today is one of those days.

We started this morning by getting ready for my mothers' chile sauce made from my garden tomatoes. Her recipe is from a 1950's Purity Cook Book. For some reason I have not made it before, but I remember smelling it in the kitchen, as a child. When I started preserving foods myself, I made more chi chi recipes like chutney and salsa. This is the first time for the chile sauce. I can't wait to eat it with Vince's home made sausages.

And speaking of sausages.........while we were driving back from picking up our whole lamb order at Buffalo Valley Meats, we stopped at Princess Auto and bought a cylinder style sausage stuffer. Vince is chomping at the bit to try that new gadget.

So we came home, and then had to get going on our batch of bagels and mini baguettes, that we had started dough for last night. Yes.....even Friday night we cooked way too much! Then we had to plan for the lamb dish that we are making tonight as part of our Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop throwdown. The dish we were trying to replicate was described on the menu:

Roasted Peace River Lamb Loin

New Potatoe Terrine Wrapped with Tyroler Bacon

Local Seasonal Vegetables

Cassis Jus

Well, we just got our fresh Alberta Lamb today
We have new potatoes and yellow zucchini from the City Centre Farmers Market in Edmonton

We have Hog Wild Wild Boar Bacon in the freezer

We have these marvellous mini peppers and cippolini onions that we scored at the Penticton Farmers Market last week
We have home made Cassis from our black currant bushes in our yard.
We made a reduced lamb stock from the bones from the lamb loin.

Our Version: Potato Terrine is circular and we have more sauce!

Cellar Door Bistro Version

Little Pears with Blue Cheese and Candied Pecans

Oh yeah...while we were hanging around doing nothing, we whipped together some delightful little bites that Joy Road Catering prepared for us at Township 7. Bradley Cooper served a nice Viognier with the treats. Difference on our variation is we used California Seckel Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese and Pecans candied in local honey instead of their all Okanagan ingredients. (we need to move somewhere that has better stuff!) If you want to see the "before" picture, go to the Dinner with Julie blog post.

No wonder we are tired.
Tomorrow we are picking all of the tomatoes from the garden, because summer is over. Frost is coming. Sigh!

No recipes today........ If you would like me to create the recipe just ask.

Sumac Ridge Cellar Door Bistro Seared Atlantic Scallops

2009-09-25T22:45:00.003-06:00

We were driving to work this morning, and I said to Vince,"We should do the first dish tonight. Let's make the Cellar Door Bistro Seared Atlantic Scallops with Risotto" He said, "OK. Can you remember what was in it?"

When I offered, on this blog, to duplicate all the dishes that we ate last weekend at the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers Workshop, the organizer, Jennifer, asked if I wanted some of the recipes, because she was going to contact the chefs and ask if they would share them. My husband Vince said "Recipes......we don't need no stinkin' recipes!" That sounds like a "throwdown" of sorts (forgive us Bobby Flay)

On the way home, we were making our list. We would stop at the Italian Centre Shop to pick up chanterelles and a few other things we needed, and then on to Sobey's for Atlantic Scallops. Kim, from Vinegar Works told us that she uses their Verjus in risotto instead of white wine, and we just happened to have a few bottles of that from our trip.

At the winery, the dish was served with a 2007 BlackSage Vineyard Chardonnay. This wine somehow ended up in our car! How did that happen?

At the restaurant, the chef came out and talked to us about his creation. I overheard a conversation about the sauce in the dish. I think I heard him say that it was carrots cooked in stock, pureed, strained and finished with cream. If any of you out there were at that dinner, and were part of that conversation, you can correct us now!

So on we went! It was fairly simple to put together. I have created a recipe, which I will share.

Sauce

2 carrots (we used local red carrots from the City Centre Farmers Market)
3/4 cup stock (we used homemade chicken, you could use vegetable if you like)
2 oz of full fat cream (whipping)

Peel and cut carrots into small dice. Cook in the stock until the carrots are completely cooked. Puree with a hand blender. Add the cream, and cook more until reduced slightly. Season if you wish. We added a splash of Verjus. A squeeze of lemon would be acceptable as well. Strain sauce through a seive and keep warm. We did not add any salt at all!

Risotto

1 small onion finely diced

3/4 cup chanterelles cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3 - 4 cups hot chicken stock (or vegetable)
2 - 4 oz Verjus (or white wine)
1 oz canola oil
Fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a saucepan, saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the rice and saute for a few minutes. Add the stock, about 1/2 cup at a time and stir into the rice. Keep the pot on low to medium so that it bubbles slightly. Do not cover the pot. When the stock is absorbed, add more stock. After about 3 additions of stock, add the Verjus and the chanterelles. Continue to add the stock until the rice is cooked, but still a little firm in the centre of the grain. It should still be a creamy texture. Add more verjus if you wish and then the optional parmesan. Salt the dish after the Parmesan addition. Keep warm.

Scallops

2 large scallops per person (10/20 count)
1 good non stick pan
a smidge of canola oil

Heat the pan. Dry the scallops with a paper towel. Season with a little salt. Place the scallops in the hot pan and cook for approximately 6-9 minutes on one side. Flip over and cook for a few more minutes. The scallops should still be slightly underdone in the middle.

Plating

Place some sauce on the plate. Add the rice, and then top with the scallops. We added a few leaves of Italian Parsley from our garden, the restaurant had some micro greens, I think.

Voila! We were happy. The wine was excellent again.

Vince and Colleen

Cellar Door Bistro

Penticton.........The New Sin City?

2009-09-22T22:16:00.003-06:00

Joy Road Catering's Exquisite Veggies

I asked my husband if he remembered the list of Venial Sins that good Catholic children learned at school. I’m sure that we had just committed a few of them this past weekend in Penticton and Naramata B.C. I looked up Venial Sin and came across this description "obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods" and a further description by Thomas Aquinas:

Praepropere - eating too soon.

Laute - eating too expensively

Nimis - eating too much.

Ardenter - eating too eagerly

Studiose - eating too daintily

Forente - eating wildly

Forgive me father..............

We have just returned from a 3 day bacchanalian weekend in the Okanagan. I was a participant at the Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop. Jennifer Cockrall King, the event organizer, artfully planned workshops for budding and experienced food and wine writers, expertly presented by writers, editors and TV personalities Michele Sponagle, Julie Van Rosendaal, Taryn Boyd, and Craille Maguire Gillis. Top Cat Tours ushered us around the City of Penticton, the up and coming Naramata Bench, and Summerland. We had an amazing dinner at Township 7 Vineyard, with food prepared by Joy Road Catering, wines from Township 7 and a great new wine called Black Cloud. We watched the movie Tableland under the stars among the wine barrels. Another dinner at the historic Naramata Inn , prepared by Thomas Render and his talented team, was served outside on the balcony. We had a great vineyard tour and lunch at Lake Breeze Winery, and a foraged lunch at Valentine Farm, the makers of the Vinegar Works Wine Vinegar. We spent some time at the renowned Elephant Island Orchard Wines, and were sure to take home some of their bubbly Pink Elephant, and Framboise to share with friends. Mission Hill Winery Chef Matthew Batey led us on a tour of the incredible Penticton Farmers Market. Rhys Pender of Wine Plus+ primed our wine tasting chops, which we practised behind the scenes at Laughingstock Winery in a wine blending workshop with David Enns. We were given 3 wines to blend and compare to their cult wine Portfolio. At Sumac Ridge Winery’s Cellar Door Bistro, some bottles of bubbly lost their heads in a wine sabering demonstration and we tasted their Tribute Olympic Commemorative sparkling wine. Some of that jumped into our car as well. The dinner was remarkable, prepared by Chef Roger Planiden, and was a fitting end to our weekend.

And now, I will do my penance.

My husband and I are going to re-create every meal that we ate, share the pictures of the real and pretend dishes, and write about them here. Stay tuned. (It might take a few weeks!)

Link to these great blogs for posts on the Township 7 Dinner and the Penticton Market

The Endless Feast in Edmonton

2009-08-31T09:14:00.007-06:00

We had the pleasure of attending a beautiful dinner at Peas on Earth Organic farm the other day. It was held in their vegetable garden. The weather was perfect, the setting jaw droppingly beautiful, and the food exquisite. The dinner was filmed for a tv show called The Endless Feast, produced by Film Garden Entertainment from California, which airs on American Public Television Stations. Previous episodes have been in vineyards, orchards and farms all across the US and Canada, with the focus on bringing together artisan food producers, chefs and food lovers to prepare and share food in the setting where the food is grown. The table had 90 seats, with a backdrop of drying garlic bouquets, and fields of vegetables. Even the bugs behaved......as August is usually "crazy wasp month" in these parts, and a meal outside can look like an arm waving competition.

The food was created by Blair Lebsack from Madison's Grill, and Gail Hall of Seasoned Solutions, along with a team of volunteers. They wove their magic through the courses of local food, which included Irvings Farm Fresh Pork, Spring Creek Ranch Beef, Pilatus Farm Bison, Dirt Willy Pheasant, Hog Wild Boar Bacon, and vegetables from Peas on Earth, Doef's Greenhouse and Gull Valley Greenhouse. The cheese board was a delightful 1 X 4 fence plank, with 7 kinds of cheese from Sylvan Star Cheese and Fairwinds Farms with some great artisan crackers from Praire Mill Bread. Libations were supplied by Ensante Winery, which produces fruit wine, and beer from Edmonton's local gem Alley Kat Brewery.

Here is the menu created by Gail and Blair

Photo by Thea Moss

Passed Hors D'oeuvres:

"Lakeland"Demi Wild Rice Medallions Capped with Cardamom and Apple Butter

Glazed "Irvings Farm Fresh"Pork Tenderloin

"Pilatus Farms" Mini Bison Sliders topped with "Sylvan Star" Smoked Gruyere and Market Beet and Corn Relish

"Peas on Earth" Three Onion and Leek Ricotta Tart

Course 1

Slow Roasted "Gull Valley" Vine Ripened Tomato Salad

Course 2

Braised "Dirt Willy"Pheasant & "Franco's"Ricotta Crepe with "Irvings Farm Fresh" Pork Belly and Apple Compote

Photo by Thea Moss

Course 3

Braised "Spring Creek"Beef Short Ribs, "Pilatus Farms" Wood Grilled Bison Strip Loin, Carmelized Onion Mashed Potato, Beet Pave, Baby Corn Succotash with "Hog Wild" Boar Bacon

Course 4

Alberta Farm House Cheese Board featuring "Sylvan Star" goudas and gruyere and "Fairwinds Farm" Goat Cheese with Pea Pesto,"Prairie Mill" Buttermilk Crackers , "Doef's" Red Pepper Chutney and "Gull Valley" Tomato Jam

Course 5

Strawberry & Rhubarb Galette with "Fantasia" Gelato and "Doef's" Spiced Wild Berry Coulis.

Enjoy a few pictures from the evening. We enjoyed the food so much that we forgot to take a picture of each course! Most of all......a salute to all of Edmonton's local producers....may they live long and prosper!

"Boof" Bourguignon Cooked Outside

2009-08-30T21:34:00.005-06:00

Served with B.C. Elephant Island Wine

For a food geek like me, seeing the new movie Julie Julia was a raucous good time. For some, that would be a bit of a stretch, but I knew every nuance of what was going to happen before it happened. I had been a follower of Julie's blog in 2003 and had bought Julia Child's book "My Life in France" before I knew it was in the movie! Meryl Streep was delightful and Amy Adams did a good job, even though she kept saying "Boof" Bourguignon. I thought that had to be intentional. No one really says "boof" for "boeuf"!

Well, this past weekend, in 30 degree heat, we decided to make the "Boof" dish. We had the benefit of cooking it in our outdoor oven, and on our barbecue burner, so that we would not heat up our house too much. I looked at the recipe and made a few minor changes. We substituted Bison for the "Boof" and used Wild Boar Bacon for the bacon. Other than that, we followed the recipe to the letter. (almost)

The Outdoor "Kitchen"

When we were cooks, we learned the "classique" method of making the dish. That recipe might look something like this.

Braise beef cubes in a Sauce Espagnole with the addition of red wine. Garnish with bacon, pearl onions and mushrooms.

Pretty simple recipe! It assumes you know all the techniques that go with the description.

Julia's recipe is 2 and 1/2 pages! Here is the recipe in all of it's glory. But truth be told......if you know how to make a good beef stew, it is quite a simple dish to make, because it is just a beef stew made with red wine, and garnished with mushrooms, pearl onions and bacon!

For 6 people

A 6 ounce chunk of bacon

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch sticks and 1 1/2 inches long) Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quart water. Drain an dry. (ok we didn't do this..... we just cut up the bacon and sauteed it in the casserole)

Saute the bacon in 1 tbsp olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you saute the beef.

3 lbs of lean stewing beef cut into 2 inch cubes

Dry the beef in paper towels. It will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

1 sliced carrot

1 sliced onion

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat.

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

2 TB flour

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to the oven for 4 minutes. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust ) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

3 cups of a full-bodied young red wine such as a Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy.

2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon

1 TBSP tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 tsp thyme ( I used fresh thyme sprigs from my garden)

A crumbled Bay leaf

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and the bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in the lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when fork pierces it easily.

18 to 24 small white onions (remove skins by blanching)

1 lb fresh mushrooms. (she says to saute, I say don't bother)

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. (This makes the sauce smooth. For a more rustic presentation, do not bother) Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat. Skim fat off the sauce. (courtesy of the bacon rind) Simmer the sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoon of extra stock or bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Serve with potatoes, noodles or rice. I served it with a few slices of a baguette we had made in our oven.

Wood Fired Bagels

2009-08-30T20:05:00.006-06:00

When you have a wood fired oven there aren't many excuses for not trying to make bagels. (Other than it is a 2 day process, and quite a lot of work.) Vince has now tried twice. We think that they are good. You see, we have never eaten a Montreal Wood Fired Bagel, or a New York Wood Fired Bagel, so we have no frame of reference. Ours are chewy and full of holes. They do not taste "like a bun with a hole" like most bagels do around here. I guess we need to enlist the help of a bagel aficionado to determine if they are close to the real thing.

The dough is fairly easy to make. It must be quite stiff and the shaped bagels need to be "retarded" overnight in the fridge. We discovered that the bagels need to go directly from the fridge to the boiling water, or else the dough becomes too soft and they look really freaky when they are baked! We have learned that we place them further from the fire to start, and then move them closer at the end.

We set ourselves up in front of the oven with a burner and large pot of boiling water. We have an outdoor counter for our prep area.

The baking is the fun part! Vince has got it down to the dance of the bagels in the oven. New ones go in....the others are moved closer to the fire......then out they come.

The man and his bagels. Give us a call if you want to be the aficionado to give them their stamp of approval!

Market Day in Paris

2009-05-02T20:44:00.006-06:00

We're standing in the Fresh Food Market at Bastille and can't believe what we are seeing. Rows and rows of amazing edibles. The fruits,greens, herbs, fresh meat,vegetables and fresh fish are unbelievable. The Parisians are quite relaxed about it, as this is usual for them. We have markets in Edmonton, with good food, but this abundance is unbelievable! I was caught touching a bunch of radishes, and the stall owner told me "ne touche pas". I forgot that they pick and bag your items for you. He did smile though, and was not uncivil about it. We walked through the market once and then went back and made our purchases. A magnificent pork roast, fresh herbs, cherie potatoes, a marvellous french melon, green beans.......we will have a feast tonight!

Snow Day

2009-01-12T16:01:00.011-07:00

Why on earth would anyone make granola bars? I have made some pretty silly things in my day from individual yogurts, creme fraiche, sausages........but granola bars? My son asked for granola bars for lunches this week. I said sure, I'll run out to the store and get you some. I looked out the window, and I was taken back to when I was home with my kids when they were babies, and quite housebound. If a blizzard was blowin' we weren't goin' ! I said to my husband that I was not going outside. Granola bars musn't be too difficult to make. I checked the pantry.

Rolled oats

Flaked Coconut

Natural Bran

3 kinds of nuts

Dried Blueberries

Honey

I found a recipe on a site called Mother Earth News. Doesn't that sound granola? I changed the recipe a bit to match my pantry ingredients. I made sure to press them firmly into the pan and then cut them warm. I thought they wouldn't stay together, but they did. They turned out great. My 2 very large boys said they were "awesome". The snow day turned out some great results. Granola Bars, Fruit Yeast Bread, Hazlenut and Apricot Tea Loaf, Beef Stock, Chicken Stock.....and then supper. Recipe Follows:

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 1/4 cup nuts any variety, chopped
1/2 cup bran
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1 cup dried cranberries, currants or raisins
2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Preheat oven to 300
2 Mix together the oats, coconut, chopped nuts and bran. Spread out on a bakesheet and toast in the oven until golden (about 20 minutes)
3 Mix together the honey, butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan. Heat on the stove until just bubbling. Add the vanilla extract at the end.
4 Mix together the toasted ingredients with the honey mixture.
5 Add in the dried fruits.
6 Press into a greased 9 X 13 cake pan. Press down very firmly.
7 Place back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
8 Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then cut into granola bar shapes. Let cool completely in the pan. Wrap separately and store

Servings: 15

Yield: 1 X 3 inch bars

Oven Temperature: 300°F

A Snowy Blustery Day!

Wood Fired Pizza

2008-08-17T17:06:00.007-06:00

After 4 years of planning and building, we have almost finished our wood fired pizza oven in our back yard. We have finishing work, like plastering and tiling, as well as a chimney cap left to do. We could not resist trying out the oven this weekend. Friday night we did our first pizzas. On Saturday, we tried roast chicken and vegetables, foccacia bread and cinnamon buns. We also roasted off been bones for a beef stock.

Cooking in an oven that is 42 inches in width, and has very variable heat is sure a challenge. We will have to learn what cooks with the fire in.......what cooks with embers.......what cooks with no embers and the door closed......SHEESH!!!!! Why would we bother? Well, when cooking food is a hobby or entertainment, the doing is not such a chore! The clean up....now that's another story.

Here are more dishes and delights.

Foccacia Bread

Roast Chicken with Potatoes & Carrots

Three Day Cook Off

2008-08-08T08:25:00.009-06:00

On Monday, the forecast said that the rest of the week would be nice and hot. It has not been a nice summer, with a fair amount of rain, and some days that the temperature did not creep above 15 degrees. I decided that this week, the last week of my vacation, I would pull out all stops and have people over as many times as my energy level would allow.

Wednesday was "girls" day and we had a nice lunch on the patio, followed by a "Mama Mia" matinee. We had Green Pea & Mint Chilled Soup, and a nice salad (picture above) and then some fresh "brother-in-law" raspberries encased in a lovely vanilla scented red wine jelly.

Thursday had colleagues from work, and some appetizers and snacks outside. We tried sitting in the gazebo for a while, but had to move to the patio on the north side when the heat became unbearable. We had a nice Bruschetta with an Herb Salad on top, and Grilled Egg Plant and Feta Rolls. I had saved some of the soup and dessert from the day before and had them in shooter glasses (soup) and raspberries in espresso glasses. Another great day outside...........

Day three, Friday, and I am still cooking. The plan is for a Bocce game, and then a roasted lamb leg with some salads. We'll see how the day goes on.

Summer Treats

2008-08-03T10:22:00.019-06:00

Company's coming! When those words are spoken in our house, it means we will be making something special. Cousins from Quebec were in town, and a dinner hosted at a sister-in-law's house. We were bringing dessert. We start off with a trip to the market in the morning. It was 12 degrees with 40 km per hour winds! Hmph! doesn't feel much like summer. Oh yeah! This is Edmonton, and the weather is..........variable.

We were on the lookout for fresh Saskatoon berries and raspberries. Some nice yellow and purple B.C. plums had already been procured the day before at the Italian Market. We would bring 2 desserts. The market never fails to amaze and inspire. We came home laden with bags of vegetables and said fruit and got to work on the treats.

When time is in short supply I fall back on quick desserts that need little fuss. I love the Italian dessert Panna Cotta because it is so easy and pairs so well with summer fruits. It literally means "cooked cream", and goes together in about 5 minutes. I have used everything from cream, to buttermilk to my favourite local Bleswold yogurt. Sweetened with sugar or honey, a touch of vanilla or liqueur and thickened with gelatin, this dessert is will never disappoint. One picture below is with Saskatoons & Raspberries, and another with a rhubarb ginger topping.(Recipe follows)

Dessert number 2 was a simple plum tart that is comprised of pastry, plums and sugar. Summer fruit tarts need a robust pastry, and I put together a dough in the food processor that is called Pasta Frolla in Italian, Pate Sucree in French, and Short Dough in English. It needs to be chilled before it is rolled, and then the fresh fruits and sugar go in. Bake it in a high temperature oven and glaze with some thinned apricot or rasperry jam for a jewel like glaze. (Recipe follows)

A Just Reward

2008-02-18T09:18:00.012-07:00

Sometimes my husband and I ask ourselves if all of the effort that we put into some meals is worth it. We can spend a great many hours on a single meal, and for seemingly no special reason or occasion. The other day, while shopping for lamb racks for a special dinner we prepared for a friend, some veal shanks jumped into my shopping basket. "Jumped in!" you say "That does not happen to me. Exercise some restraint!" Great meals begin with the unexpected. If a particular thing you see in the store looks great, smells great or is bursting with other superlatives, it needs to be eaten. We decided to prepare the quintessential veal shank dish Osso Bucco, with the quintessential accompaniment Rissotto Milanese.

We have been perfecting the classic combination for a few years now. Every time we make it, some nuance reveals itself that helps us the next time. When you make dishes again and again, you only improve your technique and results. Everyone has their prize spaghetti sauce or chili that gets better every time. This holds true for all dishes. People get disappointed with the results of a new recipe and then never return to it. Good cooks get good results from repetition.

We always turn to our old friend "The Classic Italian Cook Book" by Marcella Hazan. First published in 1973, these recipes have not gone out of style, as traditional Italian cooking has always relied on fresh ingredients and a sense of reverence in their preparation. A quote from the preface of her book says it beautifully.

Nothing significant exists under Italy's sun that is not touched by art. Its food is twice blessed because it is the product of two arts, the art of cooking and the art of eating. While each nourishes the other, they are in no way identical accomplishments. The art of cooking produces the dishes, but it is the art of eating that transforms them into a meal.
Through the art of eating, an Italian meal becomes a precisely orchestrated event, where the products of the season, the tradition of place, the intuitions of the cook, and knowledgeable joy of the participants are combined into one of the most satisfying experiences of which our senses are capable.

Marcella Hazan

Here are the recipes for the dynamic duo. It is perfect winter food, as rice, canned tomatoes, pancetta and root vegetables abound in the winter.

Osso Bucco
For 6

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2/3 cup finely chopped carrot (1 large)
2/3 cup finely chopped celery (1 stalk)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 strips lemon peel
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6-8 pieces prepared veal shanks
flour for dredging the veal
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 398 ml can of whole tomatoes , chopped with their juice
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Fresh basil (optional, but a good addition)
2 bay leaves
3 stems fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper

In a casserole dish large enough for all ingredients:

Saute the chopped vegetables in butter for 8 to 10 minutes add the garlic and lemon peel. remove from heat.

In a large skillet, heat oil. Dredge the veal pieces on each side, in the flour on a plate. Shake off any excess. Brown the veal on each side, making sure you don't crowd the pan too much. Once the pieces are browned on each side, place on top of the vegetables in the casserole dish. Once the veal has been all browned and placed in the skillet, tip off any excess oil in the skillet.
Add the wine to the pan and stir up any brown bits. Pour this over the veal. Bring the stock to the boil in the same skillet and pour over veal. To the casserole, pour over the chopped tomatoes and juice, herbs and a little salt. Check later for salt and add more if required. Bring casserole to the boil , cover tightly and place in a preheated oven for about 2 hours, turning the veal pieces every half hour or so. They should be very tender when pricked with a fork to be done. Remove veal pieces and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle with Gremolada if desired (recipes follows)

Gremolada

This traditional garnish offers a lemon, parsley and garlic tang to the dish. Some find it a tad too much for the rich dish. (I enjoy it with or without)

1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Mix together and sprinkle over top when serving.

Risotto alla Milanese

1 litre chicken stock (approx and unsalted or homemade)
2 tbsp diced pancetta (italian bacon)
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots or yellow onion
5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups raw Arborio rice
1/3 tsp saffron
salt (taste first!)
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Heat the stock to a simmer and keep warm. Saute the pancetta with the oil and butter until cooked through. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the rice and stir until it is coated with oil. Saute for a few minutes.

Add about 1/2 cup of the hot stock and simmer slowly until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue slowly adding the stock a ladle full at a time, taking care that all the rice is coated with the stock. ( smooth it out on top after each addition) Adjust your heat so that is gently bubbling, and stir, stir stir. Dissolve the saffron in some warm stock and add about half way through the 30 minutes. The later you add it, the stronger the flavour. The risotto is done when the rice is tender but al dente. It takes approx 30 minutes. When you get closer to that time, put in less stock at a time to ensure you don't swamp it. When you get it right you will know. It is creamy, not dry or not runny. Add the parmesan at the end and salt if necessary.

Marcella gives this advice:

The quantity of the liquid given should be considered an approximate amount . You may end using less or slightly more than indicated. What is important is never to cook risotto with too much liquid at one time, and to bring it to it's final tender but firm to the bite state so that it is creamy but not saturated.

Sounds scary but it is not. Practice this dish and you will never regret the time and effort you put into it.

In Defense of Food

2008-01-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

Words of Wisdom:

Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants

Michael Pollan's New Book In Defense of Food

Advice Gone Bad

2008-01-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, being a trained cook (from a previous life) can get you into a little trouble. People ask your advice, and then you can't help giving it. When we are making "simple food" at home that does not take much time or effort, I want to shout if from the rooftops. "It's not hard to do, really. Just a few simple steps.........." I had a conversation at work with someone about pan frying steak. They were quite intrigued by the idea that you could make a good steak in a fry pan. I said that we pan fry steaks often in our house when going out to the barbecue does not seem like such a great idea. (6 months out of the year where I live) I gave advice about using a good pan. Then, about ensuring the heat was even. Then, I suggested "kicking it up a notch" by making a simple pan sauce for said steaks. I gave a brief overview of the concepts of the steaks and the sauce.

A few days later, I was approached with the reproach " steaks were good......pan sauce was awful". I felt bad.

To make amends, after I got home from work on Friday, I prepared a "panfried steak", and recorded the recipe to share.

Pan Fried Bison Tenderloin with a Red Wine Pan Sauce

2 -4 small tenderloin steaks
2-4 oz good red wine
1/2 shallot finely diced
Small clove of garlic, diced finely
Fresh thyme leaves.
1 oz of cold butter (optional)
2 oz Reduced Beef Stock (optional) (Homemade - unsalted)

Preheat a saute pan until hot. Make sure the pan is not too big or too small. A big pan will get too hot and a small pan will cool down to fast and will not sear the steaks. I used a 12 inch pan for 3 steaks. Pour in a small amount of oil. Sear your steaks on both sides until almost done. Adjust your heat so that your pan residue is not turning black. Remove your steaks from the pan, place in a small oven proof pan and finish them in a 375 degree oven. (probably 5 - 10 minutes)

Put a little more oil in your pan. Add shallots and garlic and stir around, dislodging the brown bits (fond) in the bottom of the pan. Saute until translucent. Add the wine, and stir up the bits some more and cook for a few minutes. The wine will reduce. If you use the higher volume of wine, let it cook longer to reduce. If you use the concentrated (reduced beef stock) you can add that now too. Let cook and reduce until almost by half. Add the fresh thyme and some salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Taste. You can add the optional butter at this time for some extra richness.

Remove your steaks from the oven and test that they are done to your taste. Place the steak on your plate and spoon about a tablespoon of sauce on each steak.

We served this with pommes frites and some sauteed zucchini and tomato. It was a nice little Friday night supper with a good Spanish Rioja.

brioche a tête

2007-12-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

We had a cocktail party last week, and one of our guests, brought a gift of 2 bright red little paper bags. I did not peek inside when I received them, but put them on a counter while I whirled around, talking, cooking and partying. When my friend was leaving, I thanked her for the gift and she whispered, "we brought a little treat for you two, for tomorrow morning". I looked into the bag and there were 2 little golden buns, with currants and little pieces of candied fruit. They looked like brioche! The next morning, after more cleanup from the night before, we made our cafe au laits, and then bought out the little red bags. They were delicious. I don't know if they were real brioche, but they reminded me of brioche and I decided that brioche would need to be made before the holidays were over.

There is a mystique that surrounds brioche. Most of us have not had, nor have ever seen a "real" one. I did see a "real" one in France, a long time ago. The memory and taste memory have long since faded. I think I may have had facsimiles of these glorious little buns over the years, but don't think I have actually made them for a very long time.

Brioche first appeared as a written word in 1404, and has been surrounded in controversy since then. Gourmands have argued the true origin of the bread, and which region of France it came from. Marie Antoinette famous words were actually "let them eat brioche", not cake. The bread is made from an enriched yeast dough containing eggs and butter. Raisin, currants and candied fruit can be added to the dough. It can be made in various shapes, from tall cylindrical brioche mouselline, to the short and fat brioche a tête, which has a little ball on top like a hat. (like the ones I made). A similar dough is also used in other cuisines to encase Salmon Coulibiac and Beef Wellington.

Following is an adapted recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice.

Sponge

1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 cup milk, warmed to 100 deg F

Dough

5 large eggs
3 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Optional: Raisins, currants, candied peel.

1 egg, whisked for egg wash

The sponge: stir together the flour and yeast in a mixing bowl. stir in the milk until the flour is hydrated. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 20 minutes, or until the sponge rises and then falls when you tap the bowl.

The Dough: add the eggs to the sponge and beat with the paddle attachment on your mixer until smooth. Stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Add this mixture to sponge and egg mixture and stir on low speed for about 2 minutes. Let this mixture rest for 5 minutes so that the gluten can develop. Mix on medium speed with the paddle and mix in the softened butter 1/4 at a time. After all the butter is incorporated, mix for 6 more minutes. Mix in the optional fruit at this time. The dough will be very soft and smooth.

Transfer the dough to a bag and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of four hours.

Cut the dough into 2 ounce portions and place into greased muffin pans. If you want the "little hat" you can put an indentation in the top of the bun and then place a small nob of dough in the indentation. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and proof until doubled in size (approximately 1 - 2 hours). When proofed, brush on the egg wash and bake at 400 deg F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Food & Fun

2007-12-02T09:13:00.011-07:00

See Party Slideshow

We belong to a dinner club where we get together 6 or so times a year and cook and share food based on a theme. We have had some great themes and some great dinners. Last night the theme was "Be your favourite Food TV Chef". My husband and I were the Restaurant Makeover Team. We prepared a dessert selection. Nigella, Alton Brown and Trish Magwood were also in attendance.

French Onion Soup

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show:	Good Eats
Episode:	Cable in the Classroom

10 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions
3 tablespoons butter
Kosher salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley
1 loaf country style bread
Ground black pepper
Splash Cognac, optional
1 cup grated Fontina or Gruyere cheeseTrim the ends off each onion then slice from end to end. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.
Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.
Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.
Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Curried Asparagus Lemon Rolls - Party Dish

1 loaf (500g) white bread sliced length-wise
1/4 cup mayonnaise (50 mL)
1 tbsp curry paste (15 mL)
1 x lemon, juice and zest
1 bunch of asparagus, blanched

Directions:

Curried Asparagus Lemon Rolls

Remove crusts from bread.
In a bowl, combine, mayonnaise, curry paste, lemon juice and zest. Reserve
Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice of bread
Cut 3 pieces of asparagus to fit the width of the bread and place at one end of the bread
Roll bread up, to create a pinwheel.
Wrap each roll in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Can be made the night before.
Slice each roll into 6 pieces.

Rabbits & Painting

2007-11-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Rabbit Marbella with Valencia Rice

This morning, while sitting around in my PJ's, I was conjuring up the activities of the day and weekend. I had some rabbit (yes.....rabbit) in my freezer that was waiting for inspiration. Books came out. My husband was called into the kitchen from his bathroom painting job. "What about rabbit for supper?" "Rabbit!" he said. "I don't remember how to cut up a rabbit!" I had no less than 3 books that had diagrams on how to cut up a rabbit. The old Larousse Gastronomique that I got in Culinary School days has a series of pictures of rabbit from fur on bunny to nicely jointed pieces (EWWWW!). The new Larousse Gastronomique has a series of pictures of a butcher cleaned rabbit, cut into proper pieces. I found a recipe in Heidi Noble's Menus from an Orchard Table, a wonderful book by a couple in the Okanagan who have a winery and cooking school.

Rabbit Marbella is a braised dish that has its' roots in Andalusian cooking, using a combination of green olives, capers and prunes. These flavours are reminiscent of the influence of the Moors, who dominated that region in Spain for 500 years during the middle ages. As well, this dish has some resonance for me, as the dish Chicken Marbella, from the famous Silver Palate Cookbook, was a dish on the menu in a restaurant that my husband and I owned in the 80's.

The first coat of paint was finished, and then the rabbit was attended to. Adapted recipe as follows:

Rabbit Marbella

1 tbsp olive oil
l rabbit (about 3 lbs)
1 onion, large dice
1 large carrot, large dice
1 celery stalk, large dice
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
1 cup white wine (dry)
4 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper

Cut up the rabbit into about 8 pieces and season with some salt and pepper. Heat an oven proof saute pan or casserole dish with the olive oil and brown the rabbit until golden brown on all sides. Remove rabbit from pan and reserve. Saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the pan drippings until caramelized. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add the chicken stock. Add the chicken pieces to the vegetables and liquid and heat until boiling. Add the thyme and bay leaves and salt and pepper. Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and let cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat comes off the bone.

Garnish

1 cup pitted dried prunes
1/2 cup spanish olives, pitted and cut in half
1/2 cup capers, rinsed
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup sherry
juice and zest of 1 lemon

Heat the sherry vinegar and sherry with the prunes until just hot and reserve to let the prunes plump up.

Once the rabbit is tender and comes off the bone, remove the meat from the braising liquid, and strain out the vegetables. Return this liquid to the pan and bring to the boil and reduce to less than half. While the liquid is reducing, remove the rabbit meat from it's bones.

Once the liquid has reduced, add the prunes, capers and olives, and then the meat. Heat through. Add the lemon juice and zest at the end. Season if required with salt and pepper. Serve with rice or polenta.

The old adage that rabbit"tastes like chicken" is quite true, however it tastes like flavourful range fed chicken, not the bland chicken that we all know. Hope you try this recipe! Use a nice farm chicken instead of the rabbit if you like!

Bitter Sweet

2007-11-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bison Tenderloin with Black Currant Red Wine Jus
Goat Cheese & Thyme Potatoes
Sauteed Zucchini

Today was a bittersweet day. It was the last day of a job at a great place. It was a day of cleaning up messes in desks and computers, and ensuring that you don't leave too many loose ends for your colleagues. There were many hugs and a few damp eyes (mine). When I arrived home, I was determined to cook something that honoured the day. Our local Sobeys has recently started carrying Alberta Bison. I bought some tenderloin last week and put it in the freezer for such an occasion. The next challenge was to find flavours and sides for the bison steaks.

Last summer, my 3 black currant bushes were quite prolific. I froze some, and also made some Cassis from some of the currants. The cassis recipe was from the Figs Olive Wine Blog. I found some inspiration for my sweet/sour black currant Pinot Noir reduction from the New Zealand Black Currant Cooperative . Instead of Pinot Noir, I decided to use a bottle of wine given to me as a parting gift from a work friend. It is Casillero del Diablo Carmenere. The reduction was a little too tart, so I added some of my homemade cassis and also some local honey to bring the bitter sweet flavours on par. I paired the dish with the great Thyme and Goat Cheese Potatoes that I featured this summer on my blog, but made them individually and unmolded them onto the dinner plate. Some Zucchini sauteed in Australian Coriole Vineyards olive oil, that was a parting gift from another work friend, rounded out the plate.

As you can see, a recipe is not really needed for an inspirational meal. You only need and inspirational day and an investigative spirit. Ciao!

The Homemade Creme de Cassis

Friday Night Rule

2007-10-19T20:09:00.000-06:00

I have a rule on Friday nights. If the day/week has been particularly trying, I will make a decision not to cook anything, and everyone has to "fend for themselves". (My children are old enough that I will not be arrested from Child Welfare if I do not feed them.) The meal will consist of cheese and crackers, toasted bagels, or just chips and salsa. Today, feeling quite buoyant after leaving work, I stopped at my local Sobey's to find something to cook. Standing at the ready made pizza counter, I phone my 16 year old son to inquire on the pizza of choice for his repast. Then, going to the meat/fish counter, I spend quite some time deliberating on what I should buy. I tell the pleasant department manager, who I have seen on many Fridays, of my dilemma. I would like some beef tenderloin. Ahh... there is none today. I see a lamb rack behind the counter, and ask what it has been seasoned with, and if she has any in the back without seasonings. I do not like garlic powder on food and suspect this "seasoned" lamb rack may have the offending seasoning on it. I decide not to risk it and then proceed to the fish showcase. Beautiful scallops, some rainbow trout................ Scallops it is. Once home, I have to devise a menu with the scallops. Last Saturday, we went to the Strathcona Farmers Market and came away with some incredible fresh spinach, dark green and curly, like I have never seen before. This spinach needs to be sauteed! What else? I get a picture in my head..... a bed of polenta with sauteed spinach topped with pan fried scallops. That's it! Here are the pictures and a recipe of sorts.
Polenta

2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup polenta
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Bring water to the boil with salt and then stream in the polenta and stir for a few minutes. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to low until slowly bubbling. Let cook over low heat for approximately 30 minutes.

The polenta cooking in it's pan

Sauteed Spinach

1 shallot diced finely
butter
about 4 cups of fresh spinach
1/4 cup creme fraiche

Saute the shallot in butter until translucent, add the spinach and cook until wilted , then add the creme fraiche, and remove from heat.

While the spinach is cooking, get your saute pan hot. Pan fry the scallops, that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Saute on one side for a few minutes, turn and then finish until the scallops are done on both sides, but still slightly rare inside.

Dishing Up......

Stir in some fresh parmesan to the polenta. Place onto a plate and make a depression in the centre with a spoon. Spoon on the spinach and top with the gorgeous scallops. We enjoyed this with a great Austrian Gruner Veltliner. Superb!

Tomatoes Like Candy!

2007-09-30T13:34:00.000-06:00

In my part of the world, frost sometimes comes early. Sometimes so early that you spend a lot of time thinking about why you live where you do. We had to pull out our tomatoes from our garden before the 15th of September. This meant that they have been ripening in a basket on my counter since then. When 30 small roma tomatoes are ripe at the same time, you either have to eat them morning noon and night, or else do something with them. I have had some success with oven roasted tomatoes in the past, so decided that this was going to be the activity today. I oiled a bakesheet with olive oil and preheated the oven to 400 degrees. I cut all the tomatoes in half and laid them on the bakesheet. I sprinkled sea salt and fresh pepper on them, and then some fresh thyme leaves from the garden (hardy little plants, they are!) I put them in said 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, and then turned it down to 300 degrees for about and hour and a half. Below, in pictures is their journey from fresh tomato, to roasted tomatoes (soooooo sweet that they taste like candy), to an omelet for lunch that had more of the hardy herbs and goat cheese. Very Satisfying!

A "New" Pan

2007-09-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

I must be one of the few people in the world who does not own a non stick pan. I have read all of the articles on pan fumes killing canaries, and the material that most nonstick cooking surfaces are made of: Teflon, or polytetrafluoroethylene.

"PFOA is used in the manufacture of fluorine-containing polymers, materials such as Teflon that repel water and resist staining by oil and grease. In addition to nonstick cooking surfaces, consumer applications include microwave popcorn bags and pizza delivery boxes. Because PFOA -- a synthetic industrial chemical that as far as we know does not exist in nature -- is, according to the EPA, "very persistent in the environment, [has been] found at very low levels both in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, and [has] caused developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals." Although research on the environmental and health implications of PFOA has been fragmentary and no correlation between PFOA exposure and human cancer has been found, calls are being made in the United States and as far away as Australia to ban the chemical entirely. "

SHEESH! Sounds awful risky! Having read articles like the above, I decided to abstain from the non-stick cooking world. Until yesterday......

We have a social club at work that has periodic raffles to raise money for said club. I buy the raffle tickets and have never, in one year, won any prize. This week, the prize was a very good quality teflon pan. It is a heavy gauge pan that purportedly can go in the oven and can caramelize food quite nicely. I won the raffle. I thought that if I was going to use a teflon pan, it should be a top quality pan. I went out on a limb........ Tonight I decided to try out the pan. This is what I came up with.

Seared Scallops with Rose Beurre Blanc

We came back from B.C. with a nice rose wine made from pinot grapes from le vieux pins in Oliver B.C. The rose tints the shallots and the sauce a beautiful pink. Be sure to saute the shallots until translucent.

Sauce
1 large shallot, diced very fine
1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
1/2 cup good quality rose wine
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp whipping cream
salt and pepper
zest of 1 lemon

Saute the shallots until translucent, in some of the butter. Add the wine and vinegar and reduce until syrupy. Remove from heat. Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking until butter is melted. Add the whipping cream and keep warm until required. Season with the salt and pepper and very fine lemon zest. If the sauce splits, add a few drops of hot water and whisk or blend to repair.

Scallops

2 to 3 large sea scallops per person
Salt and pepper

Season scallops and sear in a good quality non stick pan. Sear the first side for less than 2 minutes. Turn scallops to sear other side. Scallops should be not quite done in the centre, just like a medium rare steak.

Spoon sauce onto plate and then place scallops on top

We served these scallops with some zucchini that was tossed with fresh thyme and butter. Delish!

Goat Milk Chronicles - Episode 3

2007-08-31T13:42:00.000-06:00

Today is August 31st. Between my last Goat Milk post and today, I have had some unexpected things happen that has left the milk languishing in the fridge. Only 1 thing left to do. Goat Milk Riccota. I followed the directions on a cheese making site and had good results. Here is the link.
http://njnj.essortment.com/cheesemakingre_remb.htm

The ricotta went into a nice Papparadelle and Ricotta dish that I found on Lex Culinaria's blog.

The Goat Milk Chronicles - Episode 2

2007-08-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

Well, there is some more goat milk gone today. I got a call from my husband, letting me know that his latte tasted weird this morning, until he figured out that he grabbed the goat instead of the skim. They both had blue caps! 2.5 more litres to go!

Glorious Potatoes

2007-08-20T19:56:00.000-06:00

The weather was still chilly today. The sun came out but fall is definitely in the air. It was a good day to make chicken stock and to cook something in the oven. While in the Naramata area, I bought a cookbook called Menus from an Orchard Table. This book is written by Heidi Noble, from Joie Wines and Farm Cooking School. Heidi and her Husband, Michael Dinn are newly transplanted to the Okanagan, and have opened up a winery, and cooking school on a Naramata orchard property. This is a "must do" for my next trip to the area. For now, I am enjoying their story and Heidi's book and will make sure that I cook my way through many of the menus.

One recipe that caught my eye today was a Potato, Chevre and Thyme Gratin. It was, as they say "a keeper", and I can think of so many dishes that would go well with these potatoes. Following is an adapted recipe.

Goat Cheese and Thyme Potatoes

Serves 4

1 cup whipping cream
1 large clove garlic smashed
1 bay leaf
4 stems of fresh thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 small chub of soft goat cheese
5 Yellow fleshed Potatoes, peeled.

Heat up the whipping cream with the bay leaf, smashed garlic clove and the thyme sprigs until just boiling. Remove from heat. Let infuse for 15 minutes while you prepare the potatoes. Remove the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and garlic. Add the goat cheese and stir. Let the goat cheese warm up in the cream, and then whisk until smooth. Using a mandoline or food processor, slice the potatoes thinly. It is important that the potatoes are uniform in thickness, as this will ensure that they cook evenly.

Layer the potatoes in a baking dish (9 X 9) . Salt and pepper this layer. After 1 layer, pour over 1/3 of the cream mixture. Repeat for 3 layers, ending up with cream on top. I placed some fresh thyme on top. Cover the dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about half an hour. Remove foil and press down the potatoes with the back of your spoon to release the starch into the cream. Do this a few times, while the potatoes are baking. The total cook time is about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Test with a sharp knife that the potatoes are tender. Turn on the broiler in your oven and let the potatoes brown on top. Let sit for a few minutes and then cut into squares and serve. This will go great with any grilled or roasted meats.

The Goat Milk Chronicles - Episode 1

2007-08-20T19:38:00.000-06:00

On our recent trip to the Okanagan area, we had the opportunity to visit Carmelis Goat Cheese. They are a small, family-owned boutique dairy and make all natural cheeses with no additives or preservatives, in the traditional European style. It is a little gem of a place, perched up on a hillside, overlooking Lake Okanagan. They will welcome you with a taste of all of their cheeses and also have a selection of goat milk gelato which was a delightful surprise. Super creamy, without the fat content of cow's cream, their freezer showcase was brimming with at least 20 flavours, beautifully garnished. I was so intrigued by this gelato, I vowed to try to make some at home. As we looked in on the goats before we left the shop, I said to them.......I'm looking for goat milk when I get home.

Well, I found some shopping at the Italian Centre Shop. It is from Fairwinds Farm in Fort Macleod Alberta. It has no additives and is hormone and pesticide free. I BOUGHT 4 LITRES. Now, the reason for the title of this entry is: what am I going to do with it all before the expiry date of September 1st?

Entry # 1

Goat Milk gelato was an easy one. I found a recipe for regular vanilla gelato and substituted the goat milk for it.

For those of you with an ice cream machine, here is the recipe

2 cups goat milk
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 vanilla bean

Heat up the cream, milk and sugar in a sauce pan until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. If you are using the vanilla bean, slit it open and scrape the seeds into the milk before you heat it up. Let cool to room temperature, and then chill overnight. Freeze in machine according to manufacturer's directions.

Aurore Sauvignon Blanc 2006 and Spaghetti Frittata

2007-08-19T14:40:00.000-06:00

We had the opportunity to visit an up and coming vineyard in the Oliver region called leVieux Pin. Our friend, who has settled in Naramata, took us to the winery to meet one of the owners. This winery has tastings by appointment, and we were able to call and give a few hours notice to set up a tasting. Dry farming, minimal fertilizer addition, high-density plantings and low yield production are some of the tenets of this vineyard. They harvest the grapes by hand and this particular vintage claims to have had only 15 hours of irrigation during it's growing season. If you have been to the region, you will see that it is almost a desert in this area of B.C., so 15 hours of water does not seem like so much!

We had a taste of this wine last night and enjoyed it's fruity almost sweet character. Today, I wanted to see if I could pair it with a light lunch and test it's compatibility with food. Trouble is, my fridge was almost empty and I did not feel like going out for the "big grocery load up" yet. I have tomatoes ready in my garden, and a sage plant the size of a shrub. There was a few nubbins of goat cheese kicking around in the cheese drawer, and some pasta from last night's hurry up supper when we arrived home. I decided to make a Spaghetti Frittata. I won't print a recipe here, but will give the list of ingredients, so that when you find that your fridge is bare, you know that it really is not!

I warmed up olive oil in a saute pan, and then threw in some fresh garlic and a handful of fresh sage leaves. I let this sizzle away for a few seconds, and then added the leftover spaghetti to heat through. Next, 3 eggs, whipped, with some fresh chives, the goat cheese, and chopped fresh tomato. I stirred this around until the edges started to cook, turned down the heat and warmed up the broiler. It sat on the stove top for about 10 - 15 minutes, and when it was almost cooked all the way through, I ran it under the broiler. We ate this lovely little lunch in our almost finished gazebo. My husband had to come down off the roof from nailing shingles to partake in this repast. The wine tasted even better with the lunch than it did last night.

Peach Melba Muffins

2007-08-19T10:10:00.004-06:00

I don't know what possessed me to let 3 beautiful Okanagan
peaches rattle around in a huge cooler with 20 bottles of Okanagan wine. But, they were pretty beat up this morning and I thought the best thing for them would be muffins.

I have just returned from a 7 day trip to the VERY SUNNY Okanagan. I say this with much emphasis, because it was raining at home when I left and raining when I got back. We spent our days of +30 degrees laying on beaches, touring wineries, traversing canyons, ogling fresh fruit and produce, and reveling in the laid back atmosphere of the Okanagan. We had a beautiful lunch on the patio at Lake Breeze Winery in Naramata, and a dinner at Passa Tempo, a restaurant at the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa.

The peaches were bought at one of a million roadside fruit stands that line the road between Osoyoos and Penticton. The Elephant Island Framboise is from a great fruit winery on the Naramata Bench area above Penticton. I also purchased a nice dry cherry wine that I am looking forward to pairing with a meal.

These muffins are Peach Melba muffins, which are reminiscent of the traditional Peach Melba dessert that was one of the many coupes I learned to prepare in culinary school. This classic dessert was created by Auguste Escoffier, to honour Dame Nellie Melba, an opera star of the late 1800's.

Peach Melba Muffins

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Framboise liqueur
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3 oz melted unsalted butter
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh peach, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a muffin pan with non stick spray.
Toss the raspberries, 1 tbsp sugar, and the Framboise, and let macerate for about 30 minutes.

Stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, melted butter and milk together. Stir into the flour mixture until just moistened and lumpy. Fold in the peaches.

Spoon batter into 9 muffin cups, not filling them to the top and reserving about 1/4 quarter of the batter for the top. Spoon a few raspberries onto each muffin, and then top with the rest of the batter.

Sprinkle the almonds, that have been tossed with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar, onto the muffins. Bake about 25- 30 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out dry. Cool 5 minutes in the pan and then remove from pan to continue cooling.

Enjoy!

A Turn in the Weather

2007-08-08T11:28:00.000-06:00

Who's responsible? I'd like to know how the weather could suddenly change from a month of positively Mediterranean to FREAKIN' COLD! I am on day 5 of a month off and am just a little peeved at the weather. I know.......grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.........

It's a good thing that I have all the fixings in my fridge for a great summer borscht! I was lucky enough to find golden beets as well as regular ones. I have so much dill in my garden that "volunteered" from last summer that I could open up a borscht factory. For those of you "not in the know" of gardening jargon, volunteer plants are the ones that pop up anywhere from seeds that you did not get rid of in previous years. It's a true sign of a laissez faire gardener, who doesn't dead head the blooms of the plants before they spread their seeds. They should be treated like the weeds they have become, but as they are yummy little plants, I leave them around and then pull them out as required. Manicured gardens do not have many volunteers!

There are as many borschts as there are cooks. This version is my version today, as this is what I had available to me in my fridge and garden. Enjoy!

Summer Borscht

1 small onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 - 2 litres chicken stock
about 1 dozen small or 4 medium beets
1 large potato
1/2 large or 1 small zucchini
Salt & Pepper
fresh dill springs
fresh thyme springs

additional or optional: green and yellow beans, cabbage, diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)

Pre-boil beets to loosen skins and then peel and roughly chop. Chop all vegetables to the size that you desire, however, a rustic soup such as borscht is nice with chunky vegetables.

Saute onion and carrots in vegetable oil. Add the stock, thyme, tomatoes, beets and potatoes, and bring to the boil. Cook until all are almost tender. Add the rest of the vegetables (the zucchini and beans if you are using them). Cook some more and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the fresh dill. Serve with a splash of vinegar if you wish, and/or a blob of sour cream or creme fraiche.

Figs in Edmonton

2007-08-07T08:53:00.001-06:00

I have a "thing" about the South of France and Italy. The climate, cuisine, wines and laid back culture all strike a chord with me. I long for the day when I can spend a month in a rented house, shop in the local markets, and soak up the sun and vibe.

My husband took a tree pruning class a few winters ago, where the expert gardener said, " why have an ornamental fig as a houseplant when you can have an edible fig?" The fig seed was planted. I purchased a brown turkey fig this spring. The tree had these great huge leaves that I have only seen in books (covering the nether parts of various people).

About a month later, the figs started budding. The tree had about 20 figs on it. The figs took about 2 months to mature. About a month ago, just before I started harvesting the fruit, I noticed that the leaves were getting brown and shriveled. I saw that evil spider mites had infested the tree, and were hell bent on "taking it down". Even the new leaf buds were lunch for the mites. We decided to move the tree outside. With daily showers, and the wind in it's branches, the fig seems to have recovered. The leaf buds are now able to emerge, and it may just make it.

Pictured above is the last fig from the tree. Below is the simple dish that we made by broiling the fig crop with Lola Canola Buckwheat Honey drizzled over. Buckwheat honey is very dark, with a molasses appearance and flavour. We ate the dessert on our piazza (patio) in front of the forno (fire).

Market Day

2007-08-04T19:00:00.000-06:00

It was raining cats and dogs today. This was the day that I was going to check out the St. Albert Farmer's Market. It is a great market. Many producers and artisans were displaying their bounty. Those dedicated souls were huddled under their tents and we dedicated souls were trudging around trying to stay inspired. Pictures were out of the question because of the downpour. When I shop at a market, supper that day is usually pretty exciting. What to make.......what to make.

I had a small salmon available and a new fish basket to try out. This fish basket is a stainless steel cage with handles that you can flip on the barbecue so your fish does not tear or break. I went out to the garden and got a selection of fresh herbs. I stuffed them into the cavity of the salmon with some slices of lemon and thinly sliced shallot. Smoked sea salt and pepper, and then on to the BBQ. Boiled new potatoes and yellow beans rounded out the meal, and a satisfying shopping trip turned into a satisfying meal.

Avoiding the Dark Side

2007-08-02T18:49:00.000-06:00

I got home from work today and the age old thought popped into my head. What am I going to make for supper? As usual, the little person that whispers in my ear said "avoid work at all costs". The picture of my open refrigerator runs through my head. Hot dogs, fresh cherries, cheese....... vegetables..........no.....not the vegetables. Hot dogs it is! My 2 teenage boys will certainly not mind. Unfortunately they survive on only a few food groups; processed meats being one of them!

While I was tidying up in the kitchen I started hearing things from my refrigerator. "Cook me!" "I belong in a soup, please help me!" I opened up the fridge and there they were:

3 kinds of peppers
Summer carrots from the Farmers Market
Zucchini
Half an onion
tomatoes that were too ripe to stay at room temperature
leftover chicken stock

I looked outside.....Fresh basil, oregano and thyme.....

They're ganging up on me! What is a girl to do? Minestrone.

It really only took about 15 minutes to make. I threw the chopped vegetables with onion in a pot with some olive oil. Sauteed it and then tossed in the stock, tomatoes, herbs and some small pasta. Cooked it for about 8 minutes. Salt and pepper, and then half a can of fava beans. Another 5 minutes cooking and there it was....smiling at me from the pot. It said "you must avoid the dark side....Making good food doesn't take that long".

We ate the soup on the patio with a crusty baguette and a nice Chilean Rose. What more can you ask for?

Sour Cherries

2007-07-31T20:48:00.000-06:00

When we planned our backyard, we decided that we would plant trees that would give us good things to eat. We looked for fruits that were not so common to our northern climate. Horticulturists have come along way with fruit trees that can withstand our brutal winters. We have planted black currants, sour cherries, saskatoon berries, pears, plums and apricots.

This summer is very warm, and even though our trees are still small, they are supplying us with a little fruit. The black currants are going into jam and into a homemade creme de cassis liqueur. The sour cherries have been a real delight. It has been so hot that I did not want to bake a pie in the oven. Instead, I took the cherries outside onto my patio, fired up the barbecue side burner, and made a warm cherry sauce to put over vanilla ice cream. It was glorious. Sweetened with sugar and touched with kirsch, it was this side of heaven. I am planning on the next batch to be preserved in some grappa that should be ready by Christmas. Who needs to move to the Okanagan?

Saskatoon Foraging

2007-07-31T20:13:00.000-06:00

There is something that is satisfying about foraging for food. It's not that you have got something for nothing. It is the fact that there are still things out there in the wild that you can pick and eat. I have gladly paid for saskatoon berries when I can find them. But, they are hard to find in stores. I have fond memories of my mom and dad taking us out to pick saskatoons and wild blueberries in Northern Saskatchewan.

I have had the good fortune of finding a wild saskatoon patch withing walking distance from my backyard. I take my little pail, and off I go down a steep embankment to pick the delightful little gems. The season is short, only about two weeks, so time is of the essence. Last Saturday, I went down at about 7:30 a.m. It was a gorgeous morning. I always feel I am doing something a little bit naughty when I am picking, so I make sure I am well away from walkers and gawkers. (or is it that I don't want to share?) I had been picking for about 15 minutes when I heard a loud snuffling sound. Is that a bear I thought? (irrational thoughts can pop into your head at any given time, you know) I looked up and saw a deer literally bursting out of the bush and bounding off down toward the creek. It was so quiet that I could hear him snuffling and jumping for a full five minutes as he went on his way.

I returned to my berry picking, fully satisfied that the natural world in my little corner was intact, and that I was going to make a very good pie with the saskatoons as soon as it was cool enough to bake.

Guests From Out of Town

2007-07-09T13:32:00.000-06:00

When an occasion to cook for guests that come from the other side of the world presents itself, one must take up the challenge. My uncle and aunt are members of Friendship Force, a group that hosts guests from other member countries , as well as travel to their homes as well. My aunt was not up to the challenge of hosting the dinner, so I offered my home for the event. The guests were from Turkey. This was the only thing that I knew about them. I needed to come up with a menu that they would enjoy, but focus on Alberta and Western Canadian products. This was the menu:

· Grilled Eggplant with Alberta Goat Feta & Mint

· Carmelli’s Goat Cheese (B.C.)

· Sylvan Star Gouda

· Chilled Roasted Beet Borscht with Dill

· Grilled Arctic Char

· Roast Alberta Lamb

· Baby Potato Salad with Fresh Herbs

· Summer Salad with First Press Canola Oil Vinaigrette, Yellow Tomatoes & Cucumbers

· Fresh Rhubarb and Bleswold Yogurt Cream Tarte

The dinner was a great success. The guests were delightful. I was so pleased they had a chance to experience some real Canadian cuisine, made with ingredients from Alberta producers. We served wines from the Okanagan , which everyone enjoyed.

Brunch for a Rainy Day

2007-06-11T19:18:00.000-06:00

In the summer, when the kitchen is warm, I don't do much baking. The garden and the patio keep beckoning me to attend to them. (The garden actually attends to me, as it keeps me balanced and in touch with what is really important in life) After 10 days of hot weather, a little cool front blew in, and with it some rain. It happened to be a Sunday, so I was home from work, and wondering what I could make for brunch that would brighten our spirits. These little inspirational cooking sessions always come with one codicil.....only use whatever I have in my home and garden! I took stock:

Fridge:
1/2 container of soft goat cheese (the kind that is in the little pyramid)
Eggs
Butter
Yummy Bleswold yogurt (2 kinds)
2 melons
Tomatoes
Edgar Farms Asparagus (3 bunches!)
Sour cream (2 containers....I better use some up quick!)
Proscuitto

In my garden (many things not ready for eating yet, but managed to find some things)
Rhubarb
Italian Parsley
Mint ( 3 kinds!)
Thyme
Basil

Freezer:
Last bag of frozen raspberries from my brother-in-law's raspberry patch

Pantry:
Always an adventure going into my pantry, as there are things that I forget I have!
Now the inspiration:

Raspberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Rhubarb Tarte
Shirred Eggs with Fresh Herbs and Goat Cheese,
Asparagus and Saffron Yogurt

Rubarb Tarte: Recipe by Colleen
Pastry:
Pasta Frolla
Pasta Frolla is a cake like short pastry that Italian cooks use for crostate (a closed tart made with any kind of jam and or pastry cream)

280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
140 grams cold butter cut up into small pieces
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Put dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process briefly. Add the butter and pulse again until it is mealy. Add lemon juice, and zest, and the egg and egg yolk . Pulse until it comes together. Divide into 2 disks and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least half an hour.

Filling:

500 ml plain yogurt (natural style, no thickeners)
Put the yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth and let drain for a few hours
1/2 cup Whipping Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon Zest
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 oz limoncello liquer

Whip the cream and sugar, until soft peaks. Add in the drained yogurt cheese, and the lemon zest. Whip in the limoncello.

Rhubarb Topping
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1/3 cup white wine
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp cold water

Place the rhubarb, sugar and white wine in a baking dish, cover and bake in the oven for approx 30 minutes. Drain off the liquid into a saucepan and cool the fruit. Bring the liquid to the boil in the saucepan and then thicken the liquid with cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp of cold water. Bring back to the boil until clear and thick. Add back the fruit, and the vanilla and chill until ready to use.

Roll out the Pasta Frolla between 2 sheets of parchment, chill again to firm it up and then line a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with the dough. prick the bottom with a fork and bake blind in the oven until golden brown. Cool.

Assemble the tart:

Spread the yogurt filling in the cooled tart shell. Smooth the top. Spoon on the cooled rubarb topping. Chill for a few hours to set.

Shirred Eggs - Recipe by Colleen

I had my father-in-law make me 12 stainless steel rings, about 4 inches around and 3 inches high a few years ago. I knew they would be handy in the kitchen, but did not have the inspiration to use them yet. Today was going to be the day.

I toasted 4 slices of bread and then used the rings to cut through the toast. I left the toast round inside the ring. If you don't have rings, cut circles to fit into a large muffin cup that the sides are sprayed.

Herb & Goatcheese mixture

1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp fresh mint
60 grams soft goat cheese

Put the herbs into a food process and process until almost smooth, Add the goat cheese and pulse until it comes together.

Sauce
Mix 1/4 cup plain yogurt with a tiny pinch of saffron, and a little lemon zest and juice

Cook the asparagus using your favourite method of cooking asparagus.
Put the dish together.

Spread the cheese herb mixture over the toast (in the ring or muffin cup).
Place the rings on a bakesheet. Layer a slice of proscuitto over the mixture, coming up the sides to form a cup.
Crack an egg into each ring or cup. Bake in a 350 deg oven for approx 20 to 30 minutes until the eggs are the desired doneness.

Remove the eggs from the rings, arrange on plate with asparagus spears, broiled tomato and drizzle yogurt saffron sauce over the asparagus.

Gasp, I Hope Not!

2006-09-21T19:34:00.000-06:00

As I sit in our home office this rainy evening I am taking a moment to remember the most beautiful summer that has just passed.

I hear that this weekend is going to be nice (sunny) so I am trying to be patient. I hope to see the sun again. In Alberta there is always one more sunny day to come. However, all this rain has me in the mood for a batch of borscht. So this weekend, rain or shine, I am going to the farmers market for some beets.

Do you have a favourite recipe?

Summer's Last Gasp?

2006-09-11T19:18:00.000-06:00

3 rhubard muffins with hopefully not the last sweet peas from the garden

I was outside wandering around the yard after work, picking a few tomatoes for supper and getting ready to barbecue some chicken. Another glorious weather day! My husband came home and proceeded to let me know "frost by this weeked"........Thump! down came the blissful state. Frost! It can't be so. I felt the urgent need to pick something living, and make something....anything from it. I looked at my young rhubarb plant. The gardening books say "do not harvest any rhubarb for the first year, as the plant needs all the energy it can get from the leaves to feed it's roots." Well......if frost is coming, the rhubarb is dying anyway and I'm making something. Here is a delighful little muffin recipe, adapted from Nigella's (a.k.a. the domestic goddess), book Feast, changed to meet my tastebuds, and with volume measurements included. I added the crystallized ginger, and used almonds instead of Nigella's walnuts. Last gasp indeed!

Rhubard Muffins

250 grams soft brown sugar (1 1/2 cups packed)
80 ml canola oil (1/3 cup)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
250 ml buttermilk (1 cup)
175 grams rhubarb, diced to about 1/4 inch pieces (2 cups)
75 grams nuts (3/4 cup) (slivered almonds are nice)
300 grams all purpose flour ( 2 cups)
50 grams wheat germ ( 1/2 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp crystallized ginger, cut into small dice

Topping:
1 tbsp demerara or sugar in the raw mixed with 1/2 tsp poudre douce*

Prehat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with non stick spray

Mix the sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla together. Measure and mix all dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients into dry and then add the rhubarb and nuts. Spoon into muffin tin. Sprinkle sugar topping over batter and bake for approximately 20 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

*poudre douce is a spice mix of cinnamon, cardomom, cloves and ginger that can be used anywhere that cinnamon is used. Extraordinary flavour!

Summer Minestrone

2006-09-04T14:40:00.000-06:00

Minestrone ("big soup") refers to a thick vegetable soup, that generally contains pasta and sometimes peas or beans. It is usually topped liberally with grated parmesan cheese and is hearty enough to be considered a meal.

Serves 4 to 5

1 medium onion chopped
1 medium zucchini cut into large dice (1/2 " to 3/4")
1 celery stalk cut into large dice
1 large or 2 medium carrots cut into large dice
2 medium potatoes cut into large dice
3 large fresh tomatoes, skinned, or 1/2 can 398 ml canned tomatoes, diced or whole
Fresh or dried herbs
Salt and pepper to taste (at least 1/2 tsp of salt!)

250 grams fresh spinach sliced (add the last 10 or so minutes)
approx 6 cups water or chicken stock, or a mix of both

This recipe is a very simple soup that you can use chicken stock as the base, or water if you don't have any chicken stock. Tomato juice can be part of the liquid as well. I like to add canned cannelli or white kidney beans to it at the end.

You can saute the vegetables in a little olive oil, before adding the liquid, or put the vegetables and the liquid together in the stockpot and bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Fresh herbs are great if you have them (basil, oregano, marjoram) but dried works well too. Add these now. If you have an end of a piece of fresh parmesan, put this into the soup to simmer. It adds flavour and some salt to the soup.

Simmer about 20 minutes. If you have leftover cooked pasta, this can be added at the end. The soup can get bigger and bigger! If you add pasta, you will need to add more liquid to the soup. You can use fresh green beans in this soup too. It is awesome.

Enjoy! I will post a picture next time I make it.