Apple Cake

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Simply in Season, an excellent resource celebrating fresh, local foods.

5 cups thinly sliced, unpeeled apples
1-1/3 cups of sugar or sugar/Splenda blend
Combine and let stand while mixing other ingredients

1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1-2 tsp vanilla (optional)
Combine in a separate bowl

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts or raisins (optional, I have not added them)

Combine in a third bowl. Stir flour mixture into apples alternately with egg mixture.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 50-60 minutes
until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I have topped this with cream cheese icing or a crumb topping. The picture above shows the crumb topping...1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar mixed together into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top before baking.

Quinoa Salad

This delicious salad can be made ahead and keeps for a couple of days in the fridge. Other grains such as couscous or rice could be substituted for the quinoa.

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed under hot water for 3 minutes and drained in a fine sieve
1-1/2 cups of water
Dash of salt

Rinse quinoa and put in pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7-10 minutes until grains are tender and water is absorbed. Put quinoa in a medium sized bowl.

Cut up finely and add available vegetables to quinoa such as:

celery
carrot
green onion
sweet peppers, red and/or green
seeded tomato
fresh cilantro

Add 1/2 tin cooked lentils (about 1 cup)

Mix together and add the juice of 1-2 fresh limes to the salad.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

Our daughter in London introduced us to this fast and delicious meal.

2 chicken breasts cut into strips
1 pkg dry fajita or taco mix (we used PC BlueMenu low sodium taco mix)
1 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10 -12 0z can corn or cut kernels off 2 cobs of corn
1/2 c salsa
salad greens
grated cheese, tomato, onion, sour cream, cilantro
lime wedges, guacamole, taco chips for garnish as desired

Coat chicken strips in fajita mix and cook then in a lightly oiled frying pan until done. Take the rest of the fajita mix and add it to the beans, corn and salsa. Heat in a pot on stove until warm.

Place salad greens on plate, add bean mixture, top with chicken strips and garnish as desired.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Vegetarian Option: Cut extra firm tofu into strips, coat with fajita mix and fry in lightly oiled pan until crisp. Serve instead of chicken.

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

I bought the Laura Secord Canadian Cookbook in Niagara Falls shortly after our wedding. It has been one of my favourite cookbooks with excellent recipes and interesting Canadian food history commentaries. This muffin recipe is directly from this book, which is available only from resellers on Amazon.ca. I always double the recipe and get 18 large muffins.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1 cup flour ( I use whole wheat)
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar ( I use 1/2 Splenda or stevia)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix batter until just moistened and then fold in

3/4 cup blueberries

Place batter in prepared muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

Fruit Bars

This recipe was in our newspaper earlier this month and featured raspberries and peaches for the filling. I have modified the recipe and doubled the size. These bars are not sweet and make a good breakfast-on-the-run on a busy morning. Increase the sweetener if you prefer a bar that is more dessert-like. Experiment with different combinations of fruit in season.

Prepare 6 cups of fresh or frozen fruit. I used 2 cups each of strawberries, peaches and blueberries.

Combine fruit in a medium sauce pan with:
4 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup orange juice

Cook until filling is thickened. (I cooked the strawberries and peaches in some of the juice for a few minutes and then added the rest of the juice with the cornstarch and blueberries)

Mix together in a large bowl to make crumbs:
3 cups large flake rolled oats
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar ( I used 100% Splenda in the squares pictured above, but they do brown better with at least half sugar. You could also use honey or maple syrup)
1 cup soft butter

Reserve 1-1/4 cups of the crumbs in another dish
Add one egg to the remaining crumbs and press batter into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Spread thickened fruit on top and sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Carrot Salad

Mom made lots of this salad when we were growing up and it was always a favourite. I have seen similar carrot salads with added dressings, but this is just marinated in pineapple juice. It tastes better the second day and keeps for a few days in the fridge. The raisins are optional.

Two pounds carrots, grated
1 tin of canned pineapple, tidbits or crushed
Handful of raisins

Stir ingredients until well combined.

Broccoli Salad

We go the the homestyle buffet at The Crossroads in Elmira occasionally and this is my favourite salad there. It can be made with broccoli and/or cauliflower. I have had it at potlucks where other additions such as raisins and sunflower seeds are included. Here is the basic recipe.

1 bunch of broccoli cut into small pieces
2-3 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped (we use bacon flavoured soy bits)
Grated cheddar cheese, about 2 ounces
Salad dressing or mayonnaise, 1/3 to 1/2 cup as desired
Sliced green onions

Mix together. Salad keeps for a couple of days.

Stuffed Zucchini

I am lifting this recipe directly from Simply Recipes, which is simply one of the best recipe blogs around! I stopped at my favourite farm lane to get fresh corn last night. Sadly, it was not ready to be picked yet because of the cool, wet summer weather we are experiencing. But I bought 3 large courgettes (yellow summer squash) and really fresh onions and garlic. This recipe is quick and easy and very tasty.
I omitted the wine. The meat mixture filled 3 squash (6 halves). It served 4 with leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini about 12 inches long, or 6 medium ones
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper

Method

1 Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving shells about 1/4 inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides, and sauté another 2 minutes.

3 In a separate skillet heat a Tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground turkey. Lightly brown the turkey, stirring only occasionally. After the turkey browns on one side, stir it so that it has a chance to brown on other sides. Cook until the ground turkey is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the onion and mushroom mixture from the other pan. Add the wine. Stir in tomato, basil and rosemary and cook 1 minute longer. Drain any excess fat. Remove mixture from heat and set it aside.

4 When mixture has cooled, add cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Fill zucchini shells with mixture. Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch of water. Place filled zucchini halves in pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove zucchini from pan and serve while hot.

Serves 4.

Tuna Salad

Stephanie invented this recipe and serves it often in her home in Mexico. She made it for us and it was delicious but she emphasized that the ingredients are added until the salad "looks and tastes right". Don't be afraid to substitute ingredients or amounts. The lime and cilantro are what make the taste special. It can be served with tostadas, taco chips, or crackers.

Dice (small dice)
1/2 onion
1 carrot (can be grated)
1/2 sweet pepper or jalapeno pepper
1 small seeded tomato
1/2 diced apple (or mango or pear)

Add
1/2 tin corn niblets or corn cut off one cob
1-2 cans drained tuna
1/4 cup or more chopped cilantro

Squeeze the juice of 2 limes (more or less to taste) over the salad and add salt and pepper to taste.

I have now made this a few times and find it a very satisfying lunch for work. I have doubled the vegetables and fruit and added 1/2 cup of garbanzos or peas and found it very tasty.

Chicken Salad

This is another recipe Stephanie uses in Mexico. She had it at a local restaurant and asked how it was made. It is served cold and keeps for a day or so.

Dice in 1-2 cm squares:
4 large potatoes
2-3 carrots

Boil in salted water until just tender and drain.

Add:
1 can corn
1 diced green pepper (or poblano peppers)
celery (optional)
2 apples
1/2 head shredded iceberg lettuce
2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Dressing:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/3 cup mayonnaise (change the proportions according to taste)
salt and pepper

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The local strawberry season was disappointing this year due to the cool, wet weather this summer. But my rhubarb has thrived in the same conditions. I extended the strawberries and made several strawberry rhubarb pies.

Prepare a single pastry crust and line a 9" pie plate, fluting the edge.

Combine in a large bowl:
2 cups strawberries (cut large ones in half)
2 cups diced rhubarb
1/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup white sugar

Mix together and dump into the crust.

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix together until crumbly and place over the top of the fruit.

Bake at 425F for 12 minutes, then turn heat down to 350F until filling is thickened and clear, about 45 minutes. (glass pans may be done a bit sooner)

It is a good idea to place a cooking sheet under the pie as it usually runs over a little.

Pasta and Roasted Vegetables

A recipe for Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Prosciuto was published on Simply Recipes, an excellent blog to which I subscribe. It looked delicious, and I modified it to a vegetarian dish with the vegetables I had on hand. We have made it three times now and it is already a favourite. The leftovers are excellent for lunch and are good cold or hot. I have copied the recipe from the other blog and have written in my changes.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Vegetables (Prosciutto) Recipe

If cherry tomatoes aren't available, you can skip them and add a few chopped sun dried tomatoes to the dish at the end. (we used cherry tomatoes the first time but prefer sundried tomatoes)

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium cauliflower, cored and broken up into 3/4-inch florets (4+ cups)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or sundried tomatoes in oil added at the end)
  
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 4 large cloves garlic
• (4 ounces of prosciutto) (mushrooms, sliced peppers, broccoli used instead of meat)
  
• 8 ounces orecchiette pasta (or other pasta)
  
• 5 ounces baby arugula or spinach, cleaned and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used less cheese than this)
  

Method

1 Preheat oven to 425°F. Lay out cauliflower, cherry tomatoes (if using), peppers, mushrooms etc in a roasting pan, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until just lightly browned and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

2 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 teaspoon salt for every quart of water).

3 While water is heating, pulse garlic, sage, (and prosciutto) together in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Once cauliflower has browned lightly, remove from oven, toss cauliflower with garlic (prosciutto) mixture, and return to oven to cook for 5-7 minutes more.

4 Boil pasta uncovered (rolling boil) for 9-10 minutes until firm, but done (al dente). Reserve one cup of pasta liquid. Drain water from pot. Add cauliflower, arugula (or spinach), sundried tomatoes and Parmesan to the pasta. Stir in enough cooking water to moisten. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4.