Roasted Rhubarb Salad

I came across a recipe for roasted rhubarb and decided to give it a try. My first attempt turned into a sauce which was tasty but not suited for a salad. I picked fresh leaf lettuce, arugula, chives, cilantro and rhubarb from my garden and made this for lunch. You could add crumbled cheese, nuts, seeds etc as desired. I used the liquid from the rhubarb sauce and a little balsamic vinegar for dressing. Any vinaigrette would work.

Roasted Rhubarb

4 small stalks rhubarb

1-2 tbsp sugar (to taste)

Wrap securely in foil and place in the oven at 425F for 10-12 minutes. Check it every 5 minutes and take it out when sugar is melted and the rhubarb is just starting to soften. You should still be able to slice the stalks. Cool for a few minutes and add to greens. 

Vegan BBQ

It is a beautiful but unseasonably warm day today, perfect for sitting outdoors on the deck in the late afternoon and evening while cooking supper on the barbeque. I sliced onions, zucchini, and halved two large peppers. The portabella mushrooms and asparagus went on the grill whole. All the vegetables were brushed with a little olive oil and no other seasonings were added. I closed the lid intermittently with the burners on low and in about 20 minutes, dinner was ready. The mushrooms and asparagus cooked the fastest and were transferred to the top tray while the other vegetables cooked.


We put spicy black bean dip on thin whole grain buns (both President's Choice products) and piled on the vegetables.

Delicious! Who knew meatless would be this good?

Swedish Apple Pie

My sister-in-law Shirley made this delicious fruit dessert for us last weekend. It lends itself to modification and I made it with a mixture of fruit (apples, frozen raspberries and blueberries) as I find that storage apples can be bland by this time of year.

Slice 5 cups of apples or 5 cups of fresh fruit and place in a 9 inch pie plate with

1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar or sweetener
1/2 tsp nutmeg if desired
pinch of salt if desired

In a separate bowl combine

1 cup flour or mixture of flours
pinch of salt
1/2 -2/3 cup brown sugar or other sweetener
1 egg
1 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts
1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

Place topping evenly over fruit.

Bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes or until top is browned and fruit is tender.

Roasted beets, carrots and onions

I found this recipe (and picture) on the Meatless Monday blog, tried it and loved it. I have been eating the leftovers for lunch. I added the *spices and also put in some slivered fresh ginger. I cooked it for over an hour to get the vegetables very tender and the onions were starting to carmelize. Yum! I have cut and pasted this recipe and my changes are in italics.

Beets, carrots and red onions are seasoned with middle-eastern spices and oven-roasted in this terrific veggie medley. The Ras el Hanout spice blend can be constructed by mixing many everyday spices, so you can enjoy this veggie side dish without leaving the comfort of your own kitchen. This recipe comes to us from our friends at Foodista.

Serves 4

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut in half vertically
• 5 medium-sized beets, peeled and cut into quarters
• 2 large red onions, peeled and cut into quarters
• 3 teaspoons Ras el Hanout*
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

* Ras el Hanout is a spice blend which can be found in the spice section of many grocery stores and Middle-Eastern specialty shops. To make your own, mix together equal parts of cardamom, ginger* (fresh), allspice, cinnamon*, paprika, coriander*, cumin*, nutmeg and turmeric*. Add a pinch of cloves and black pepper at the end. This spice blend is flexible, so don’t worry if you’re missing a few spices.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. (375F)

Place carrots, onion wedges and beet quarters in a roasting pan in one layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle the Ras el Hanout spice blend evenly over the vegetables. Drizzle the extra-virgin olive-oil over the seasoned vegetables.

Roast in oven for 25-30 (60) minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through. Let vegetables cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Red Cabbage and Apple

One of my German patients gave me this recipe and it is a family favourite.

Coarsely shred 1/2 large head of red cabbage
Add one or two thinly sliced apples (I don't peel them)
1/2 cup water

Cook over medium heat in a large pan with a good lid. I use my wok. Stir occasionally and add a little more water if it gets dry. When the cabbage is tender (about 20-30 minutes) take the lid off until the water is mostly evaporated. Add

3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar

Stir through and serve hot. Serves 6-8 as a side dish

Venison Stew

A friend from our church, John, gave us some game meat from moose and deer he hunted last fall. I checked a few recipes and then created this dish with what was on hand. It was very good! This type of recipe can be modified in many ways.

Heat 15-30 ml of oil in a dutch oven or stew pot

Add one diced onion (I would have added green pepper if I had some) and cook for a couple of minutes until it is starting to soften.

Add 500 g diced venison and cook until browned

Add 30 ml cider vinegar
250 ml vegetable or beef broth
250 ml tomato sauce (I used some left over pasta sauce)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 ml allspice
other seasonings to taste

Simmer slowly for 40- 50 minutes until meat is tender.

Add chunks of potato (4 medium), carrots (2), onions (1) as desired and simmer until vegetables are done.

I served it with a salad and Canadian wild rice.

Seven Layer Casserole

Before our children were born, one of my patients gave me a cookbook put together by the New Dundee Women's Institute. (No. 3-1973) It is full of the best of local cooking, meals to fill hungry people after a day working on the farm, meals to serve large families on a budget, meals featuring locally available foods, and meals that are quick and easy to assemble.
I made this casserole many Sunday mornings before church and put it in the oven to be ready at 1:00 PM. It is a perfect one dish meal and can be varied as needed. Add a salad and the dinner is complete.

Lightly grease a small roasting pan or large casserole dish.

Spread one pound of lean or extra lean ground meat on the bottom of the pan. (We prefer ground turkey) Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Next, sprinkle 1/4 cup raw long grained rice evenly over the meat.
Add one layer each of raw onion, sliced raw carrots, frozen or canned peas, thinly sliced raw potatoes. The potatoes are the thickest layer. Season each layer as desired. Mix one 10 oz can of tomato soup (or mushroom soup) with 1 cup of water and pour over the mixture. Cover and bake at 325F for 1-1/2 hours

Cottage Cheese and Spinach Gratin

This recipe is copied directly from a site called Seasonal Chef.
I adjusted it a little and the changes are in italics. It was delicious.

Cottage Cheese and Spinach Gratin

Vegetable oil for the baking dish
1 pound spinach (about 2 bunches)
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill seeds (omit)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (omit)
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese (nonfat or low-fat is fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit)
Freshly ground black pepper

Added 1 chopped scallion

1. Warm marinara sauce or grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously oil an 8-by-10-inch gratin dish or a 9-inch square baking pan.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the spinach with the water clinging to its leaves, tossing frequently, until the spinach is barely wilted. (Not all the spinach will fit into the skillet at first. Add some first, then as it cooks down, add the rest.) Press out the liquid from the wilted spinach and reserve it in a measuring cup. Finely chop the spinach.

4. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, parsley, dill, coriander, cottage cheese, salt and a little pepper. Stir in the chopped spinach and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and mix well. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until set, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. To serve, cut into diamonds or squares. Top with warm marinara sauce and/or grated cheese.

Goulash Soup with Vegetarian Option

I had goulash soup at our local Christkindl Market and analyzed the ingredients closely. This is my adaptation of this spicy dish. I serve it with fresh spaetzle.

Cube 2 pounds of beef round into 2 cm dice
Dredge in flour and brown in oil in a large soup pot.

Add
1-2 onions, diced finely
1- 28 oz tin of diced tomatoes
4 cups of beef broth
3-5 cloves of finely diced garlic
1-2 tbsp of paprika
bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, oregano, hot pepper flakes to taste

Simmer for 1½ to 2 hours until meat is tender

Add
4 diced potatoes
4 average carrots, diced
1 large green pepper, diced

Simmer until vegetables are cooked

Vegetarian Option:
Sept 1/07

I modified this recipe and am very pleased with the vegetarian option:

Cook 1 diced onion and 2 cloves of garlic in a tbsp of oil until softened. Add 1 tbsp flour to onion mixture and 2 cups of vegetable broth. I added 1 tsp Marmite for a richer flavour.

Add tomatoes, green peppers, potato, carrot and seasonings as above. Add salt to taste.
Simmer until vegetables are done.

I added one drained tin of kidney beans. Tofu, soy crumbles or other beans could be added instead, but it is very tasty and thick even without the beans.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

This salad keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. I often make a batch on the weekend and use it for my work lunches. The vegetables can be varied, but should total 6 cups for the amount of dressing described. I used edamame (green soybeans) for extra protein, and put in cauliflower instead of the zucchini I didn't have on hand. Hard vegetables need to be blanched for 4 minutes in boiling water. I love fresh Thai basil and used it instead of parsley.

Basic Recipe:

1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup fresh green or yellow beans cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup fresh snap peas (or edamame)
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced yellow summer squash
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced sweet peppers
fresh parsley or other herbs to taste
2 oz pickled olives or jalapenos (optional)

Dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil (original recipe called for 6 tbsp oil)
3 tbsp lemon juice and/or red wine vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 tsp salt
pepper, sugar if desired

In a large pot of saucepan, bring a few inches of water to a boil. Add carrots, beans and peas and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Mix with other vegetables. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Marinate at least one hour before serving.

Makes 12 half cup servings.

Roasted Spring Vegetables

I watched Nigella Lawson make this dish on TV a couple of years ago. It is a fast and easy dinner to assemble that leaves time to put your feet up for a few minutes before serving time. I don't remember the exact ingredients she used, but it is hard to ruin roasted vegetables.

Drizzle some good olive oil on the bottom of a medium roasting pan. Put a mixture of cut up spring vegetables in to fill the pan about half full. Here are some examples:

Small new potatoes
Asparagus spears
Sweet peppers
Mushrooms
Red or white onion, quartered
Garlic cloves
Courgettes (yellow summer squash)
Zucchini

Drizzle top with olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper and herbs.

Bake at 400F for 40-50 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Nigella added small bocchini balls that were sliced in half near the end of cooking. This addition makes a complete meal. Garnish with sun dried tomatoes.

Strawberry Shortcake

These are our favourite biscuits for strawberry shortcake. I prefer a good biscuit to a sweet sponge cake for the base of this dessert. Actually, this is what I had for dinner tonight. Sweet indulgence! A no-calorie version is below.

Shortcake Biscuits

Mix together:

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar or sweetener (optional)
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cut in with a pastry blender or two knives:

1/2 cup butter

Add:
1 cup soured milk or buttermilk

Stir to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead gently 8-10 times. Roll out to desired thickness-about 1/2- 3/4 inch thick. Cut with a round cookie cutter. If you use a 2" cutter, you will get about 12 biscuits. We used a 4" cutter and got 7 biscuits. (Remember, this was dinner!)

Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for about 15 minutes

When cooled, split biscuits and fill with fresh sliced strawberries and lightly sweetened REAL whipped cream. Place top of biscuit over berries and cream. Add more whipped cream and strawberries.

No calorie version: Go to farm and pick fresh Ontario strawberries. Walk to corner store to buy fresh butter and cream. Beat whipping cream with hand beaters. Make recipe as above.

Rhubarb Muffins

I made stewed rhubarb, rhubarb coffee cake and rhubarb muffins this morning with the stalks I cut fresh from the garden. The rhubarb muffins have less fat and sugar than the cake and are delicious and moist. This recipe is adapted from the book Muffin Mania by local authors Cathy Prange and Joan Pauli. (This great booklet appears to be out of print)

1-1/4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat flour)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 c oil
1-1/2 cups diced rhubarb, or other seasonal fruit (peaches are great!)

Mix dry ingredients. Beat egg, adding milk and oil. Pour egg mixture over dry ingredients. Fold in rhubarb. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes Makes 10 muffins as shown in photo.

Stewed Rhubarb and Berries

We still are getting a lot of rhubarb from the garden. I don't freeze it, because I always have found it to be watery when thawed. We ate a lot of rhubarb and strawberries at home and Mom served them with graham flour muffins for dessert. After she cooked the rhubarb and sweetened it, she added a package of frozen strawberries that thawed quickly and cooled the fruit. I have started making my stewed rhubarb in the microwave, with no additional water. If you cook the rhubarb on the stove, coat the chopped stems with the sugar and add only a little water if necessary. Cook on low to medium and watch that the fruit does not scorch.

8 cups washed and chopped rhubarb
Place in a microwave safe dish and cook on high for 10-13 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Sweeten to taste with sugar or sweetener (I used 3/4 cup Splenda)
Add 2 cups, more or less, frozen raspberries (my favourite) or strawberries.

Dutch Apple Pie

This Pennsylvania Dutch recipe is very common in our area. This pie is sweeter and richer than the apple pie I usually make with a crumb crust, but is preferred by some people.

Pastry for single crust 9"pie plate
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup thick cream, sweet or sour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Peel and quarter enough apples to fill a pie shell (5-7 apples). Make a crumb mixture with the butter, sugar, salt and flour. Sprinkle 1/3 of crumb mixture on the bottom of the pie crust. Arrange quartered apples closely together on pie shell. Put remaining crumbs on top. Put spoonfuls of cream over the crumbs here and there and let the cream run down between the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake at 415F for 12 minutes and for 30-40 minutes at 350F.

Fruit Pie

My daughter called last night for this recipe. It is our favourite fruit pie recipe, mainly because the topping is delicious. While the recipe calls for sugar in the filling, I often leave out the sugar except for the topping, especially if the fruit is fresh, sweet and in season.

Peach, Pear, or Apple Crumble Pie

5 large pieces of fruit, peeled and sliced
(Enough fruit to fill prepared pie crust)
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour

Peel and slice fruit into a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and flour. Put in a pastry-lined 9"pie plate.

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp ginger for pear pie (this is delicious)

Mix with fork until crumbly then sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 415F for 12 minutes and then reduce to 350F until fruit is tender (usually 40-50 minutes more)