Celebrating Canadian Food

If you have never tried a recipe from a Marilyn Smith's cookbook, now is the time!
One of Marilyn's claims to fame is she is the only Professional Home Economist who is also an alumnus of the Second City Comedy Troupe!  She is also the self-appointed Queen of Fibre who is on a mission to show how enjoyable pulses, legumes and lentils can be and they add fibre to the diet.

The side effect of the added fibre - farting; just shows you have a healthy colon.  Things Marilyn explains every chance she can,  particularly on National Farting Day!  Yes there is a National Farting Day: March 1 annually.

As the Queen of Fibre she titled her latest cookbook with her tagline Peace, Love and Fibre as she continues to reign over her fibre queendom.

I have picked one of her older cookbooks to review,  actually Facebook picked it for me! A picture of HOMEGROWN Celebrating the Canadian Foods We Grow, Raise and produce With 160 Recipes popped up as my Facebook memory of the day.  Don't recall why I would have posted the picture, I am guessing I had either just got the book or was making something from it.  Whatever the reason, it seemed like a good reason to pull it off the shelf again.

Homegrown is a compilation of recipes from members of the Ontario Home Economics Assocation which celebrates great Canadian food.  It sometimes seem Canadian Food has an identity crisis.  If you say you are going out for Italian Food or Thai Food - certain flavours and images come to mind.  If you say you are eating "Canadian" tonight - people would give you a blank stare and ask so what exactly are you eating.

We need more cookbooks that celebrate all the wonderful food that is grown and produced right here in Canada - Maple Syrup, cranberries, pulses, legumes, oats, barley, beef.  I could go on and many of these items are prized around the world.  When you think local ingredients - this is the book to help you create with them.  

I started tonights meal with a very simple yet elegant first course - Baked Goat Cheese with Cranberry Compote (there was also an alternate with Pear Compote) 

The sweet tart flavours of the cranberries, with a little saltiness from the prosciutto combines nicely with the creaminess of the goat cheese rolled in walnuts for a little crunch.

I followed that with Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry served with Creamy Herbed Polenta 
I love polenta but hate making it, in this version you cook the polenta in the oven.  Such an easy way that make a delicious creamy polenta.  I will certainly be adding this recipe to my repertoire.  

When I think of curries I think of something creamy and yellow.  I know there are a whole variety of curries out there but that is the first image I have when I think of curry.  That this curry is tomato based and rather than using a pre-made curry powder,  it has you create your own curry powder mixture is why I choose the recipe.  At first you think really all those spices, but you end up with a flavourful curry with a nice hint of heat in just over 1/2 hour.

I finished off with Oat Barley Cookies.  A cookie you can almost feel good about eating as it is a source of soluble fibre.  It contains Barley Flour which was a new ingredient for me, but I found it easily enough at my local bulk food store.
The cookie provides you the satisfaction of having something sweet after a meal without being a full size dessert.

Like always I have several more recipes earmarked to try,  not sure I will get to them all before I select my next cookbook.  For now, I think I will go have another cookie with a cup of Tea.  Till next time Enjoy.

Fundraising Cookbooks

It is the season when various service groups and church are holding fall/harvest suppers to raise funds.  There have been advertisements for various dinners around my local areas.  There is the usual Turkey and Roast Beef dinners, but one place was serving beef stew and another lasagna.

In the days before Pinterest or a quick google search for a recipe, many of these organizations also published Cookbooks.  Community members contributed their "best" recipes to the endeavour,  someone would type them up or maybe they would have the Cookbook professionally designed.  Either way they were usually a good fundraising initiative as it often include popular recipes from community gatherings that the owner hadn't shared before the book was published.

I have a few of those types of cookbooks in my collection and I selected one of them this week.  Country Cooking - A Canadian Collection of Favourite Home Tested Recipe it came out in 1996, but it does not say what group created the book.  I received it as a gift I don't know where it came from.

Looking at these types of cookbooks is always fun.  You can see what was popular at the time and the ingredients that were readily available.  Many of the recipes in this book rely on convenience foods like canned cream soup, cake mixes, or canned meats to create the dishes.  Many are based on trying to feed a lot of people quickly with little fuss.  The recipes also assume a certain amount of cooking skills.  The cookie recipe I made, had very simple instructions "cream sugar into butter, add the rest of the ingredients and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes".  That is why new cooks find these types of cookbooks frustrating.

Cookbook historians use these books as research on the evolution of a recipe, but also community evolution.  As I write this I am trying to recall a quote I heard about exchanging recipes at a funeral receptions being like trading gold - they were hot commodities.    If anyone knows the quote please share!

I usually try to pick a recipe that has an ingredient I have not tried before, or try a new technique.  This time I just randomly picked recipes that looked interesting.  The book opened to a page with various spreads and cheese balls - so I felt it was a hint that I should make one as my appetizer; but  I couldn't resist making a soup - cool weather and warm soup you can never go wrong, so we have two appetizers.

I started with Ham & Cheese Ball with Fresh Tomato Soup.  There is a little quote at the bottom of the soup recipe from the author saying it was the best fresh tomato soup she has ever tasted and she made it frequently.    I picked it because it included potatoes in the recipe which I thought was unusual for tomato soup. I found the taste too the soup to be a little lacking.   I think it is a case that the quality of the tomatoes make a big difference.  Grocery store tomatoes just don't have the same flavour as fresh from the garden!  Maybe I will try again when I have access to garden fresh tomatoes.    On the other hand the Ham & Cheese Ball would be worth a repeat performance as a party appetizer.

From there I moved onto Neopolitan Pot Roast served with Perogi Pie.  The Perogi pie was very rich and really meant to be eaten alone but it did work with the pot roast.  Baked in tomatoes, onions and seasoning it made for a very tender roast with a nice sauce.

With so many dessert options it was hard to narrow it down to one item.  In the end I decided to keep it simple with Orange Cookies.  If you like orange flavour this is a cookie for you.  Good orange flavour without being overwhelming.    Nice way to end the meal.

Though I am still debating about trying the 7-up Cake!  Yes it does have 7-up as an ingredient!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Rose Reisman has written 19 cookbooks. In 2002, she published The ART of Living Well - Light cooking and Eating to fit the way we Live.

The cookbook was a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and I had the opportunity to see Rose Reisman demonstrate several recipe during a fund raising event for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  The price of admission to the event included a copy of the cookbook and a chance to meet Rose.

I do recall trying several recipes when I got the book including Yukon Gold Potato Soup and Rose's Famous Light Fettuccine Alfredo, but one recipe keeps me pulling the book off my shelf "Creamy Shrimp and Dill Spread"  A tasty shrimp dip that is a hit whenever I bring it somewhere.  Needing to bring an appetizer to an event - I reached for the trusty recipe.

It is rather ironic that I had reached for this book considering October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Also when you are female and turn 50 you get contacted to have a Mammogram, and today was the day.  Even though we have not found a cure for breast cancer (or cancer in general) the survival rate for early detection improves every day.  The friend that I attended the Rose Reisman fundraising event is a 20 year breast cancer survivor,  a cousin is almost a 30 year survivor.  As uncomfortable as the screening techniques may be - they help save lives.  Get it done!  It could save your life.

So what recipes did I try from The ART of Living Well............

To start I selected "Sweet Red and Yellow Pepper Soup", because it called for charing the peppers first. For some reason I was always worried that I would burn the peppers so I have never tried to char peppers before.  Charring peppers was not as hard as I thought!  I love pureed soups and this one had a great combination of flavours.  Warm soups are a great fall weather food especially on cooler rainy days.  I think we will see a repeat appearance of this soup soon.

I decided to make a bonus appetizer "Asparagus Prosciutto Cheese Tortilla Slices"  when I found some nice asparagus at a reasonable price and I had all the other ingredients already.  I had originally dismissed the idea of making this recipe because I didn't think I would find  asparagus.  Though I was a bit disappointed with the recipe - it seemed to lack flavour.  I think some additional herbs or seasoning would help if I make it again.

The next course was "Salmon Parcels Wrapped in Rice Paper" with "Japanese Curly Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing".  I thought they would complement each other both having asian flavouring.

I find salmon, cooked right,  has such great flavour, that there is no need to add other flavours to compete with the salmon.  In this recipe you spread the salmon with hoisin sauce before wrapping it in rice paper to cook.  A sauce made with coconut milk is then served with it.   The salmon was juicy in its crisp rice paper wrap - an interesting way to serve salmon.

The salad was a nice fresh salad to serve with the salmon,  with crunch coming from toasted almonds and the dried noodles.   A great salad to bring to a potluck.

Hungry for chocolate (who isn't hungry for Chocolate!) I indulged with " Sour Cream Brownie Cheesecake".  A reduced fat version with all the great taste you would want from a cheesecake, with enough chocolate flavour to satisfy even the most die hard chocoholic.  I would certainly make again if I had to bring dessert somewhere.   The only problem is it does make a large cheesecake,  and even though it is low fat you should still be mindful of the amount to eat.  So I need some help eating up the cheesecake - anyone want some?

Lets go pick some apples

When there is a nip in the air and the trees become more colourful we start to think of a popular fall activity -  Apple picking.  Many of us head out to orchards with friends and family to pick crisp, sweet apples to enjoy during the fall.

A group of colleagues and I made the annual track this weekend.  We have been doing this for over a decade.  A local orchard agrees to donate apples to a local food bank, we supply the labour and deliver the apples.    It sounds like a lot of work, picking a 150  bags of apples, but many hands make light work.  Afterwards we reward our hard work with a potluck picnic in the orchard!

With little planning we always seem to put together an amazing spread.  Food always seems to taste better when outdoors, and when you get to enjoy it with friends it is always better.

In honour of this fall tradition, this weeks cookbook pick is a theme cookbook - all about Apples!
The Apple a Day Cookbook by Janet Reeves entices readers to include apples in many dishes that they would not have thought an apple belonged in!

As you know my goal is to create a 3 course menu from the selected cookbook each week,  which I did this week, but I spread the dishes over 2 days.  The appetizer and dessert I brought to the picnic and the main course  was for supper the next day.  

This weeks menu included:

Curried Apple Soup

Chuckwagon Beef Stew

Pumpkin Apple Butter Pie

The curried apple soup was very easy to make with ingredients most of us have at home.  The warm soup was great to have on a cool day with just enough heat from the curry to make it interesting.  It will certainly be a soup I make again.  

Each year after we pick the donated apples we usually pick apples for our own use.  Most of the apples I pick get eaten fresh, but a few will find their way into Apple Jelly and Apple Butter.  A jar of Apple Butter left from last year was the reason I choose the Pumpkin Apple Butter Pie recipe.  A twist on the traditional pumpkin pie.  The addition of the apple butter made for a softer filling than a typical pumpkin pie, but provided an interesting hint of sweetness. 

The Chuckwagon Stew seems like a typical stew with the exception of apples.  I was concerned that the apples would overpower the stew or cause it to be too sweet.  I was pleasantly surprised the stew tasted delicious and you would hardly know apples where in it, as they pretty much dissolved into the stew.
A great way to add a little more fibre to your stew.

This week I will take some time to convert a few of those apples into Apple Jelly and Apple Butter but for now I think I will go eat an apple. 

A good day cooking!

 Roasting garlic, making pasta,  drinking wine! It was a good day!

The traditional Italian meal has multiple courses.  Which may make you groan at the thoughts of all that food!  The good thing is each course is a small portion so it never seems like an overwhelming amount of food.

Antipasto - We think of it as a platter of certain foods, but it is the Italian's way of luring you into the meal and can be as elaborate or as simple as you would like.

Primi - Is the first course, in which Pasta is the star.  You could serve pizza, but really this where Pasta is meant to be savoured.

Secondi with Contorni- the Main meal, meat or fish with a side of some kind - beans, grains, vegetables you name it.

Dolci - Dessert - fruit, simple cakes, gelato Yum!

From The Tuscan Sun Cookbook my menu included:

Antipasto

Baked Olives with Citrus Peel & Garlic

Roasted Garlic with Bruschetta

Primo

Potato Ravioli with Zucchini, Speck and Pecorino

Secondi with Contorni

Short Ribs Tuscan Style

Roasted Asparagus

Dolci

Peaches with Almond Cream

There was a lot of firsts with this menu, simple ones but still firsts!

Despite how easy it is I have never roasted garlic before.  Slice off the top of a head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, wrap in foil and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes!  The results are creamy caramelized goodness to spread over Bruschetta.  Funny thing we think of Bruschetta as the tomato topping over toasted bread, but really Bruschetta is the bread itself; toasted, spread with olive oil, you can eat as is or top with a variety of things.

While in Italy we spent an afternoon with a Nonna making pasta.  I have made pasta a couple of times since returning, each time with a different recipe, but I think I finally found the recipe that works for me.  A nice workable dough to turn into ravioli - another first! Making ravioli!  Up until now I have just made spaghetti or linguini noodles.  (PS: Speck is a smoked prosciutto, but you can use bacon).

I have cooked regular ribs and I have eaten short ribs, but I have not cooked short ribs before.  This slow roasted recipe makes a very flavourful dish with the meat practically falling off the bone; and with the short ribs there is actually some meat to savour, unlike regular ribs sometimes.

Tasty fresh peaches are still available there now, so that influenced my choice for dessert.  The almond cream contains mascarpone cheese,  which we often associate with a dessert item.  Our tour guide in Italy said fresh mascarpone cheese was one of his favourite breakfast foods!  This dish was a lush way to enjoy sweet fresh peaches.

I am so glad there are leftovers so I can enjoy the meal all again!

A trip down Italian Memory Lane

Two years ago at this time, I was on an amazing trip to Italy.  After a couple of days touring Rome on my own I meet up with friends for a wonderful wine and food tour of Tuscany.

Some of those friends are back in Italy again doing a food and wine tour of the Sicily area.  Thanks to the wonders of Social Media I am able to travel along with them through their facebooks posts,  I am also reminiscing as facebook memories pop up daily from my trip 2 years ago.

As I can't be back to Italy right now I thought I would at least enjoy the flavours of Italy by enjoying a glass of Chianti Classico Riserva while I browse this week selection  - an Italian Cookbook of course!

I didn't't buy The Tuscan Sun Cookbook by Frances Maves and Edward Maves while in Italy,  I never bought any cookbooks there.  I guess I was too busy doing wine tasting (sometimes 3 a day!), visiting olive groves and seeing how pecorino cheese is made to buy cookbooks.

Shortly after I returned home I bought The Tuscan Sun Cookbook as an e-book.  This is only one of about 3 e-cookbooks I own.  A novel is fine as an e-book but a cookbook really is much better as a hard copy :)

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook is the cookbook companion to the book Under the Tuscan Sun which tells the story of American Professor and Poet Frances Mayes journey as she buys a 300 year old property in Tuscany and falls in love with the local cuisine.  The book would later be made into the movie Under the Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane.  I didn't realize the connection between the movie when I bought the book.    I bought the Tuscan Sun Cookbook as it had items that reminded me of my trip to Tuscany, with great descriptions of the food as well.

The beauty of the food I had in Italy was simple local ingredients combined together with care to create flavourful creations.    This was authentic Tuscan food, but just like in Canada you can find mass produced flavourless food in Italy.  Fortunately most of what I saw was the traditional Tuscany food.  I got to see the whole process from where it was grown, to how it was prepared to make wonderful multi-course meals that left you satisfied but not stuffed. And of course there was plenty of wine!.

I am looking forward to getting out my pasta maker,  having the smells of garlic, olives, tomatoes  permeate the kitchen and enjoying another glass of Chianti!  Let's get cooking.

James Barber The Urban Peasants Cooking for Two

Cooking for Two not only provides recipes that serve two people, but the instructions were written as if two people are preparing the recipes.  Even though I was cooking by myself the recipes were all simple and easy to prepare.
In the introduction James Barber states the recipes in this book are "basically simple"  because his goal is to get people in the kitchen cooking to show them how easy is it to cook good food that is readily available and not expensive.

I made several recipes, my featured  meal was

Tomato and Bread Soup

Rye Chicken with Pan Haggerty with a Lovely Zucchini Sauté 

 Oranges with Grated Dark Chocolate

In addition, for a quick lunch I prepared Stracciatella Soup and when friends were dropping in for tea I tried the Raspberry Coffee Cake.

I chose the Tomato and Bread soup because I was the recipient of an abundant tomato crop that I needed to use up. Simple ingredients come together into a delicious soup.  It can be left chunky for a quick lunch or pureed for a fancy start to the meal.  (Sorry no picture - the soup was so good technology ate the picture!)

I have used alcohol in dessert items and wine in main entrees but never alcohol in a main course so the Rye Chicken intrigued me.  My concern that the rye would overpower the dish was unfounded.  The chicken had a nice sweet smokey flavour that a gave a depth of flavour I have never had before.  Paired with Pan Haggerty, which is described as a coal miner's supper from Northeast England, a yummy dish of potatoes, onions and cheese - how could you go wrong.

Another vegetable in abundance right now Zucchini was turned into a Lovely Zucchini Sauté, the few additional ingredients in the recipe (garlic, basil, good quality olive oil)  just helped the vegetable to blossom into a great a side dish

The Oranges with Grated Dark Chocolate is not so much a recipe but a reminder that food does not have to be complicated.  A couple of good quality ingredients  - an orange, dark chocolate and cinnamon, all things we probably already have in the house; carefully assembled can make an impressive end to the meal.

The Urban Peasant Cooking for Two was ahead of its time in reminding people that good quality simple ingredients can come together easily to make a satisfying meal that can be as elegant as you want to make it.  Cooking with what is in-season and available saves time from searching for obscure items that you may only use once.  If you can find this books I would highly recommended adding it to your collection.