Swiss Chard or Kale with Apple & Onion

Here is a very quick and easy way to serve Swiss chard or kale. The apples and onions add a touch of sweetness to balance the astringency of the leaves. This would make a good side dish with just about any pork dish, although I served it with chicken and got no complaints.

4 servings
20 minutes prep time

1 large onion
1 large apple
8 to 12 leaves of Swiss chard or kale
1 tablespoon butter or mild vegetable oil

Peel the onion, and cut it into slivers. Peel the apple, core it, and cut it into thin slices. Wash and trim the Swiss chard or kale. Cut off the stems, and discard if using kale. If using Swiss chard, cut as many as you wish to add to the dish (anywhere between all and none - I used half) into bite-sized slices. Roughly chop the leaves.

Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, apple, and stem pieces if using, and sauté until they are softened and slightly browned, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the chopped leaves and continue cooking and stirring until they are all cooked down to your liking. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Beans with Peppers & Shiitakes.

Kohlrabi, Fennel & Apple Salad

Here's a nice quick salad, with tangy flavours and a good crunchy texture. Next time I make it, I'll cut things finer than I did this time, I think. They should be a little coarser than if you had grated them, but not by too much.

This has been a difficult year in the garden in many ways as it has been so cool and damp, but the fennel is loving it, and I have the best I've ever grown. I'll need to think of more ways to use it. Two little kohlrabies are preferable to one larger one, as they will likely be more tender, but you make salad with the kohlrabies that you have, not the ones you wish you had. I did have two little ones, as the kohlrabies are not loving it - all the brassicas have been so disease and bug-ridden this year - but I don't know that they were notably tender. Still, they were okay, once they were peeled and trimmed.

4 to 6 servings
20 minutes prep time

 

2 medium-small kohlrabies
OR 1 large kohlrabi
1 medium bulb fennel
1 large apple
the juice of 1 large lime
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sunflower seed OR olive oil
salt

Peel the kohlrabies and cut them into fine julienne. Trim the tough stems and base from the fennel, and slice it very finely. Peel the apple if you like, although if you have a red one the colour will add a nice touch - I suggest you leave it on. At any rate, cut it in quarters, core it, and cut it in fine julienne to match the rest of the vegetables. Toss them all with the lime juice.

Mix the honey, mustard and oil in small bowl  until well amalgamated, then toss it with the salad. Season it with a little salt to taste.




Last year at this time I made Beans with Peppers & Shiitakes. Couldn't make that this year! Between anthracnose (yes, it's as 'orrible as it sounds) and cold, the beans are over.

Fresh Corn Pancakes

Corn season is drawing to a close, and perhaps it's not quite as nice just eaten off the cob as it was. Especially if you forget you have it in the fridge for 4 days, as I did. Ooops. Still, modern corn keeps much better than it used to, and it worked very well in these yummy little pancakes.

We ate them for breakfast, but I can see them making a nice side dish as part of a regular meal. The amount of corn does make them softer than regular pancakes, and they will cook a bit slower too, so allow for that. 

12 to 16 pancakes (4 servings)
45 minutes prep time

2 large eggs
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
kernels cut from 4 cobs fresh corn
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups soft unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
extra oil for cooking

Put all the ingredients in the order listed into the bowl of a blender. The corn should be raw; cut the kernels off in rows onto a large cutting board then scrape the cobs well before putting it all (er, not the cobs) in the blender.

Preheat the oven to 200°F, with a heat-proof plate in it to put the pancakes as they finish cooking. Heat a large skillet (or two) over medium-high heat, with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan(s) completely. Blend the pancake batter until very well mixed and smooth.

Pour 3 4" pancakes into the pan, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes on each side until well browned. Put the finished pancakes in the oven to keep warm, and continue cooking the rest of the batter, adding more oil to the pan as needed to prevent sticking and to keep the pancakes browning properly, as opposed to scorching. Note that the temperature to cook these should be a shade lower than the usual temperature used to cook pancakes, and they will take a little longer to cook. The finished pancakes will still be quite soft in texture.

Serve as you like, with butter and maple syrup, which is what we did, or with little breakfast sausage and broiled tomatoes, which is what we didn't, due to the lack of any sausages and being to lazy to go pick tomatoes. Not to mention we scoffed the lot, just the two of us. If we were more moderate, this recipe would cut in half quite nicely. Oh well, next time.

Pot-Roasted Chicken in Tomato-Sage Gravy

Brr... chilly for September, isn't it? My tomatoes have not been the best this year, between the rain and the cool weather.  Good enough for this, though, which is a good start to fall cooking - still using fresh tomatoes and herbs, but something slow cooking and filling to warm you up.

This is a pretty simple way to cook a chicken, but tomatoes and herbs make the sauce seem very rich and fancy. I used my favourite Persimmon tomatoes (which I don't even think I have written about yet!) They are a large, solid, orange tomato and gave the sauce a lovely golden colour. You can use whatever tomatoes you like or have, though.

6 to 8 servings
2 1/2 to 3 hours - 45 minutes prep time

a  2 to 3 kilo (4 to 6 pounds) chicken and its giblets, if available
2 - 3 shallots
2 - 3 large tomatoes
2 - 3 stalks of celery
1 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 tbsps flour
salt, if needed
sage leaves and a little oil to fry, OPTIONAL

Remove as much visible fat from the chicken as you possibly can. You can take a lot of the skin right off, if you like. This will save you from having to skim the juices for the gravy. Finely mince the giblets, always supposing they came with your chicken. If they didn't, oh well. Sucks to be your chicken.

Peel and chop the shallots. Wash, trim and chop the celery. Blanch, peel and chop the tomatoes. Put the veg in a large heavy-bottomed pot with the chicken stock, the giblets, and the chicken. First, though, stuff the bay leaves, sage, and rosemary into the chicken. Cover the pot.

The chicken can be cooked on top of the stove, over medium-low heat for 30 to 40 minutes per kilo. Turn it over halfway through the cooking time. If you prefer, you can instead cook it in the oven (for 45 minutes per kilo, at 350°F.) It is not necessary to turn the chicken over in this case, but it must go in a pot that can go into the oven, obviously.

Remove the cooked chicken to a serving plate, and cover it with foil while you make the gravy. Let it rest for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Strain the pan juices* and discard the giblets and vegetable pulp; press them to extract as much usable liquid as possible. Skim off the fat if there is too much. Put the flour in a saucepan, and slowly stir into it 2 cups of the pan juices, being sure that the flour is smoothly dissolved. Taste, and adjust the salt.

Cook the gravy over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.If you have much more than 2 cups of pan liquid when you make the gravy, you can thicken it all - just add another tablespoon and a half of flour per extra cup.

To garnish the chicken with sage leaves, pick 6 or 8 medium-sized leaves in good condition. Heat a little oil (just enough to cover the leaves) in as small a skillet as you have, and fry them over medium-high heat, a few at a time, until crisp and lightly browned.  Turn them half way through the process. Drain them on a paper towel, and arrange them as you like over the chicken.

I put the sauce and garnish over the whole chicken, then cut it up. It probably makes more sense to do it the other way. Cut it up and arrange it on the serving plate, then pour over the sauce and garnish.



*If you didn't have any giblets, you can instead just remove the herbs and purée the vegetables in a blender for a naturally thick sauce, although I would still thicken it with the flour. 




Last year at this time I made Tomatillo & Sausage Soup.

Apple & Blackberry Pie

When my mother-in-law moved up here, one of the things she brought for the garden were some thornless blackberry bushes. I have to say, they're amazing! They flower for months, then they ripen for months - sweet-tart, spicy-scented and juicy. They are easy to pick, and go beautifully with apples. Mmm... pie.

Cloves are not my favourite spice in general, but when I was picking the blackberries they told me they would like to go with some cloves. They were right.

8 servings - a 10" pie
2 hours - 1 hour prep time - allow time to cool

Make the Crust:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
8 to 9 tablespoons ice cold water

Put the flour and salt into a food processor, and whizz briefly. Cut the butter into chunks and add them to the food processor. Process until the butter is the size of peas, then start adding ice cold water in tablespoons.

Once you have added enough that the mixture begins to hold together, turn the contents of the food processor out onto a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper. Press everything together to form a disc of dough, and wrap it up in the paper loosely. Set it aside to rest for about 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 2 unequal portions. One should consist of about 60% of the dough, and the other should be about 40% of the dough. Roll out the larger portion into a circle a little larger than your pie plate, sprinkling it with a little flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking. Flip the circle of pastry into a 10" pie plate while it is still attached to the paper, then peel the paper off. Press the pastry into the bottom and sides of the pan.

Once the bottom crust has been filled, roll out the remaining dough in the same way as the first piece, although it should only be the size to top the pie.


Make the Pie:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 pods green cardamom
1/4 cup arrowroot OR tapioca starch
OR 3 tablespoons minute tapioca
2 cups blackberries
5 to 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples

Preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Mix the honey, cloves and cinnamon. Crush the cardamom pods, and discard the green papery hulls. Grind the seeds finely and mix them with the honey and other spices.

Rinse and pick over the blackberries, and drain them well.

Peel, core and slice the apples. Toss the arrowroot, tapioca starch, or minute tapioca with the apples. Fill the prepared pie crust with the apples and blackberries, a layer of each at a time, for a total of three layers of each.

Place the top pie crust over the pie, peeling away the parchment paper once it is in place, then pinch it sealed all the way around the pie. Cut or pierce the top of the pie in several spots to allow the steam to escape as the pie cooks.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for a further 45 to 55 minutes, until nicely browned. Best to bake this with a cookie sheet under the  pie plate - it will be pretty juicy.





Last year at this time I made Pollo alla Cacciatora.

Small Shining Light Watermelon & Sugar Baby Watermelon - Watermelon Twins

These two melons are remarkably similar in appearance and flavour, in spite of originating on different continents. I have found them both to be very good: not the sweetest watermelons, but sweet enough, with a pleasant flavour and crisp, juicy, fine-textured flesh. Seeds are small but numerous, and since they grow in defined channels fairly easily removed. I can recommend both these melons, but I do think that Small Shining Light is the better of the two, mostly because of its better keeping qualities. 

Small Shining Light (Ogonyok)

This traditional Russian watermelon is still fairly difficult to find, although it is very well suited to growing in Canada. It was brought to North America by Seed Savers Exchange 1991, and has been picked up by a number of seed sellers since, including Cottage Gardener Heirloom Seed, Heritage Harvest Seed, and Tatiana's Tomato Base.

The watermelons are round to slightly oval, with a very dark green solid-coloured rind, often with a yellow patch where they rest on the ground. The vines are quite manageable, at about 10 feet, and the melons vary from about cannonball size to basketball size. At 80 to 90 days to maturity from planting out, they are very workable in our shortish seasons.The black seeds are small, and reasonably easy to remove from the crisp, juicy, pink flesh.

Small Shining Light is supposed to be tolerant of cooler weather, and certainly it still produced reasonably well in this cool, rainy year. However, it was not as sweet as it has been in other, drier, warmer, summers. Still, very enjoyable. Unlike Sugar Baby, Small Shining Light is a good keeper, and can be kept for several weeks after harvest in a cool, dry spot. Not surprisingly, I have found them to hold on the vine quite well too.

Sugar Baby

Sugar Baby is a much easier to find watermelon than Small Shining Light. My first impulse is to say that, in spite of this, Small Shining Light is much the better watermelon, but this view is coloured by the fact that my first packet of Sugar Baby seeds grew vines that rarely produced any melons! It took me a while to figure this out, as the two melons look SO similar. I did finally figure it out last summer, and this spring I threw out my old seeds, got a new packet, and made sure the two were not growing close enough together to confuse me. So now, I finally have Sugar Baby melons. They seem to be producing more melons than the Small Shining Light, but noticeably smaller. Also, they have not kept well on the vine - I have had to throw away several which were very overripe (rotten) as I did not pick them early enough.

The description for Small Shining Light fits Sugar Baby as well, with the note that they are smaller melons, shorter vines at about 6 feet, and ripen sooner - 75 to 80 days to maturity should do it. As noted, mine did not hold at all well, so watch them carefully and eat them promptly.

Sugar Baby started life as the much less attractively named Tough Sweets. M. Hardin of Geary, Oklahoma, inbred and selected Tough Sweets for 13 years before releasing the resulting watermelon in 1955 as Sugar Baby, since which time it has spread far and wide as well adapted, early, small melon. Tough Sweets seems to have disappeared as a watermelon, completely supplanted by its offspring.

Polenta Tart with Tomatoes, Peppers & Feta Cheese

I made two of these at the same time, and since I only have one tart pan I put the second one in a 10" springform pan. Which worked fine, but I was a bit surprised to discover that it took a good 15 minutes longer to bake than the one in the tart pan. Thicker metal, and just a tad deeper; it made a significant difference. Just another little reminder that we recipe writers do our best, but there is no substitute for using your own judgement when cooking.

This looks a lot like pizza, but it isn't really like it at all. It's closer to quiche, but again, not really that much like it.  I think this is best served just warm rather than hot, or even cold (room temperature). It won't keep long though. We ate the leftovers 24 hours later (refrigerated in the mean time) and they were fine, but not as good as freshly baked.

6 to 8 servings
2 hours - 1 hour prep time - allow time to cool

Make the Crust:
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons butter
1 large egg

Put the water, salt and cornmeal into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. By the time this comes up to the boil, it should already be so thick as to be just about done. Once it is thick enough to be pulling away from the pot, remove it from the heat, cover it, and set aside to cool for about half an hour.

Use the butter to generously butter the sides of a 10" tart pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

When the cornmeal has cooled, beat the egg into it. Press the polenta evenly over the bottom of the pan and up the sides enough to make a depression about half to 3/4 of an inch deep. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Make the Filling:
3/4 cup plain thick yogurt
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 large eggs
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the yogurt, feta, eggs, and pepper together. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared polenta tart shell.

Finish the Tart:
1 medium beefsteak type tomato
1 or 2 small cubanelle or large sweet banana peppers
2 tablespoons sliced sweet or green onion
2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh basil or mint leaves
1/2 cup grated old Cheddar cheese

Wash and slice the tomato thinly. Core and deseed the pepper, and chop in thin slices. Mince the onion and herb. Grate the cheese.

Arrange the vegetables attractively over the top of the tart, and sprinkle the cheese evenly over them. Bake the tart for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until firm and set, and the cheese is lightly browned. Let cool to lukewarm before serving.




Last year at this time I made Corn & Chicken Egg Drop Soup. 

Jellied Gazpacho

Okay, so it's tomato aspic. A very good tomato aspic, though. I'm proud to say that everything but the salt, vinegar, and gelatine (okay, and the olive garnish) came from our garden. 

I didn't have any white wine vinegar, only balsamic. Which was fine for flavour, but left the aspic looking a bit murky.

6 to 8 servings
45 minutes prep time; at least 2 hours to set

Make the Tomato Broth:
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 stalk celery
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put the tomatoes, celery and water into a pot, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft, then strain through a fine seive. You should have 2 cups of liquid when finished; add a little vegetable broth or water if you are short.

Make the Gazpacho:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
1 large cucumber (cups chopped)
1 small stalk celery, with the leaves
3 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 sprigs parsley
1 small clove of garlic

Put the vinegar in a mixing bowl, and sprinkle the gelatine over it.

Peel the cucumber, if it warrants it, and cut it up roughly. Trim and chop the celery, pepper, parsley and garlic. You can chop it all fairly finely by hand, or put it in a food processor and chop finely, but do leave some texture.

Bring the tomato broth up to a boil, then mix it with the vinegar and gelatine until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Mix in the chopped vegetables and pour the mixture into a 4 cup mold. Chill until set.





Last year at this time I made Peach Jelly.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

This year I didn't go for a traditional birthday cake. With all the lovely fresh peaches around, it seemed like time for Peach Upside-Down Cake, and very yummy it was too. I thought this was even better on the second day, so it can and probably should be made a day before you want to eat it. However, with the fresh peach topping it won't last long so keep that in mind too.

I used a 9" springform pan for this and that... didn't exactly work. It was fine until I got it into the oven and then the butter topping started leaking out.  So don't do that. I did put a tray under it, and it didn't leak horribly, but still, no springform pans.

8 to 12 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

1 1/2 cups soft unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 medium peaches
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup Sucanat OR dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons Sucanat OR dark brown sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk OR thin yogurt

Butter a 9" round, deep cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Put a pot of water on to boil, to which at least 3 of the peaches can be added and have the water cover them. Measure the flour and mix in the baking powder and salt; set this aside in a small mixing bowl if you need the measuring cup to continue, or leave it in the cup if not. When the water boils, blanch the peaches for 1 minute, in one or two batches depending on the size of the pot. Rinse them in cold water at once to cool them, and peel them. Set them aside.

Cream the butter in a larger mixing bowl, and work in the sugar until soft and well amalgamated. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla extract and the rum.

Melt the butter and put it into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly over the bottom by tilting and turning the pan, or use a pastry brush if preferred. Sprinkle the remaining 4 tablespoons of Sucanat evenly over the butter. Cut the peeled peaches in half, discarding the pit. Place them cut side down evenly over the prepared butter and sugar.

Mix the flour into the butter and egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk or yogurt. Scrape this evenly over the peaches in the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the cake tests done with a toothpick inserted in the middle.




Last year at this time I made Fresh Corn "Polenta".

Minty Watermelon Agua Fresca

So how long have I had this blog? Six years, isn't it? And this is my first melon recipe, if you can even call this a recipe. But that's the thing about melons, both watermelons and the other kind - it isn't that I don't love them, and eat them, but they are so good just as they are, that they never end up in anything fancier than an ad hoc fruit salad.

Well, not quite never, because I just did this. Perhaps I will have a few more recipes too, since I grew a ridiculous quantity of melons this year and the results are starting to roll into the kitchen. So far it's mostly been melon for breakfast everyday, but I'm going to have to get a bit more creative to use them up. Although this was very good, and will take care of quite a few.

Taste your melon before you measure your sugar. I put in 2 tablespoons sugar because this was a little Golden Midget watermelon, and as such not very sweet. A really sweet, fine melon will need next to none, just a little to counterbalance the lime juice. I suspect your average watermelon will be fine with about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

2 servings
15 minutes prep time

2 spigs of fresh mint
1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons sugar
the juice of 1/2 a large lime
2/3 cup water OR 6 to 8 small ice cubes
3 cups chopped deseeded watermelon

Rinse the mint and pat it dry, and put it in the bowl of a blender. Add the sugar and blend until the mint is finely chopped. Add the lime juice and water or ice cubes and blend again, until the ice is completely crushed if you are using ice. 

Scoop the watermelon from the rind, removing all seeds as you go. Add it to the food processor, and blend until fairly smooth. Serve garnished with mint sprigs, if you like.





 Last year at this time I made Green Bean, Sweet Onion & Cherry Tomato Salad with Parsley-Mint Dressing.

Green Bean Salad with Mushrooms, Onion & Bacon

Hot green vegetables cooked with bacon, mushrooms, and onion are classic and delcious, and there is no reason to give that up just because it is too hot for hot vegetables. The combo makes a great salad too.

Need I say that sour cream is certainly better than yogurt? But you have to do what you have to do. Yogurt isn't half bad either.

2 to 4 servings
40 minutes prep time

Make the Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the above together, and cover it and put it in the fridge until ready to proceed.

Make the Salad:
1/2 of a medium sweet onion
salt
450 grams (1 pound) green or yellow wax beans
125 grams (1/4 pound) button mushrooms
125 grams (1/4 pound) bacon

Peel the onion, and cut it in half from pole to pole. Reserve half for another use. Cut the half-onion in half again, then cut it into thin slices. Salt them and set them in a dish to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Wash and trim the beans, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a pot with water to boil, and boil until just tender, 4 or 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water to cool them, and drain them well.

Clean, trim, and slice the mushrooms thinly. Rinse the onions and drain them well. Mix the beans, mushrooms, and onion in a salad bowl and toss in the dressing.

Chop the bacon into half-inch pieces, and fry it slowly until crisp. Drain well and cool, on a piece of paper towel, then mix about 2/3 to 3/4 of it into the salad. Sprinkle the remainder over the top of the salad, and serve. 




Last year at this time I made Mexican Pickled Carrots & Jalapeños.

Broccoli & Tortellini Salad

This summery salad couldn't be easier, thanks to frozen cheese tortellini, which also makes it suitable to be a full meal in itself - 2 servings in that case. If you make it part of a larger meal, it will stretch to 4 or maybe even 6 in a pinch. But don't count on it; this is popular!

I've made this later in the year with imported basil and dried tomatoes; 1/4 cup chopped dried tomatoes soaked in 1/4 cup of boiling water and set aside, covered, for 15 minutes. Toss them into the salad, along with any leftover soaking liquid. Still, it's better to make it now with squeaky-fresh local basil and ripe, juicy tomatoes.  

2 to 4 servings
30 minutes prep time

 Make the Salad:
250 grams (1/2 pound) frozen cheese tortellini
1 large head of broccoli
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup minced fresh basil leaves

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil, and cook the tortellini according to the package instructions, or perhaps a minute or two longer. While the water boils and the tortellini cooks, cut the stem from the broccoli and reserve it for some other use. Chop the broccoli florets into bite-sized pieces. Wash and halve (or quarter, if they are large) the cherry tomatoes. Wash and mince the basil leaves.

When the tortellini has only 2 or 3 minutes left to cook, add the broccoli - cover the pan to bring it back up to a boil as sonn as possible. However, the broccoli only needs to be blanched more than cooked through. Be sure the tortellini is well done though, before you drain it. Rinse the tortellini and broccoli in cold water until completely cool then drain well.

Put the well-drained tortellini and broccoli in a large salad bowl and mix in the cherry tomatoes and basil.

Make the Dressing & Finish the Salad:
1/4 cup sunflower seed OR olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
the juice of 1 lemon
1 cup grated old Cheddar or other cheese of your choice

Whisk together the sunflower seed or olive oil, the mustard, and the lemon juice, and toss the dressing into the salad. Let it all rest together for 20 minutes to half an  hour. Just before serving, mix in about 3/4 of the grated cheese, then sprinkle the remainder over the top.




Last year at this time I was Making Meringues.