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Thinking Outside the Jar: Elderberry Cream Hearts

11 Feb

Elderberry Cream Hearts

Now that my daughter is 2.5 we’ve been having such fun with holidays. She has a much greater understanding of the activities and rituals behind holidays and looks forward to them with anticipation. From her books and talks with her friends, she now understands Valentine’s is about cards, candy, hearts and “I love you’s”. Since this is her first year of really experiencing these holidays, I’m feeling compelled to really make the most of it and help make her first introduction to them really special.

After watching the Tedx Manhattan video about the effects of eating processed, food colour rich foods, I’m hesitant to let my daughter enjoy much of the candies that may come her way and so this treat was my attempt at using natural ingredients to create something nutritious and fun.  Debating between rhubarb and elderberry syrup as a base, I opted for the antioxidant rich elderberry syrup, mostly for its dramatic colour. When I canned this syrup, I intended to pour it over pancakes or add it to club soda, but I’ve done neither and my syrup is wasting away in the pantry. I like recipes that give preserves a new life!

Elderberry Cream Hearts

2 cups elderberry syrup

1 cup water

3 packets of powdered Knox gelatin

1/2 cup whipping cream (unwhipped)

1. Dissolve the packages of gelatin in a cup of cold water. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.

2. Pour syrup into a small pot and bring to a soft boil. Remove from heat and add gelatin.

3. Pour in whipping cream and stir. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until set. Cut into squares or shapes.

** While I’m not 100% convinced elderberry syrup was the right choice, there’s something here and with some tinkering, we could  create something really fantastic. Perhaps my rhubarb syrup with orange zest or a mango juice with orange concentrate might taste good? Or, switching agar flakes instead of gelatin? Since this is my first attempt at making homemade gelatin, I welcome your suggestions and feedback!

Thinking Outside the Jar: Marmalazed Chicken Legs

27 Jan

In my sleep deprived sleep, I honestly typed marmalazed without realizing how it’s the perfect fit for this recipe. It’s marmalade used as a glaze for chicken legs; marmalazed.

I tend to use up preserves for other sweet things, like thumbprint cookies, as a cake filler or thinned for a glaze for quick breads. I almost always forget how preserves can be used for savoury purposes, especially as a glaze for meat. I really liked this glaze and when baked, it became caramelized and delicious spooned over some brown rice.

Marmalade Glazed Chicken

Yields enough glaze for a dozen chicken legs

1 cup orange marmalade

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce

Dash of hot pepper flakes

Touch of water to thin it out

In a small pot, combine ingredients and over low heat, stir until everything has come together. Taste and adjust to your taste. If you want to reserve the glaze as a sauce, bake in a smaller dish and pour over chicken and bake at 350 until chicken is cooked. If using this as a glaze, spread chicken out on a greased, tin foil lined baking sheet and coat legs with glaze. Bake at 375.  Enjoy!

Thinking Outside the Jar: Rhubarb Preserves

14 Jan

No Scurvy Here!

Last spring, I had about 30 lbs of rhubarb donated to me and not wanting to waste anything, I froze a quarter, made rhubarb syrup with a quarter and made rhubarb preserves with the remainder. Some of it was preserved in a simple syrup and some with vanilla bean.

Well, it’s been over 6 months since I made it and let me tell you, it’s delicious. Add in some apples and the fruit I froze over the summer and you’ve got yourself a delicious fruit salad that is deliciously local (OK, minus those oranges, but it *is* citrus season and I can’t resist).

Added bonus is the syrup. While it’s a tasty base for the fruit salad, it also makes a killer drink.

Rhubarb Vanilla Syrup

While I’m sure it’s noon somewhere and it’d be a delicious martini, I decided to opt for a morning mimosa-style by adding club soda to the syrup and grabbing a fancy flute and pretending I was somewhere warm and sunny. Besides, nothing starts off a Saturday morning quite like sipping something sweet with the extravagence of real vanilla bean floating in your flute.

Have a happy Saturday!

Thinking Outside the Jar: Cranberry Preserves

24 Nov

Since the arrival of our son, Samuel, life is definitely hopping! Before his arrival, I made up a batch of Cranberry Preserves, a la Linda Zeidrich, a lovely baked preserve that keeps the berries whole and imbued with lovely citrus flavours. What I love most about this recipe is its adaptability – you can either can it or store it in the fridge for up to a month. I chose the latter, since I had some big plans with the preserves and today, my first day of being alone with two kids, I managed to whip up this dessert using the stored Cranberry Preserves, but any kind of cranberry sauce will do.

For my American buddies, you may have plenty of leftover cranberry sauce and this is just one way to use it up besides pairing it with turkey. For my gluten-free/grain-free/dairy-free buddies, this cake is for you! The cake is beyond delicious and really easy to prepare. Enjoy!

Cranberry Preserves

German Chocolate Cranberry Cake

Recipe courtesy of a friend.

100 grams unsalted butter (or dairy-free margarine, if needed)

100 grams sugar

3 eggs, separated

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

150 grams almond flour

1  348 mL can whole cranberry sauce or equivalent home made

250 mL whipping cream, whipped (or whipped topping, if going dairy-free)

Dark chocolate shavings for topping.

1. Mix butter, sugar and egg yolks until they are frothy.

2. Add cocoa powder and baking powder, then almond flour.

3. Whip egg whites until stiff then fold into above mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes in a greased spring-form pan and when you take it out, spread the cranberry sauce immediately over the top.   Cool.   Spread with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Serve.

** Since I’m going dairy-free, I cut an individual slice and topped it with whipped topping and dairy-free dark chocolate, but feel free to slather the top of the cake with whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving. **

As a side note, here are a few things I’ve learned about cooking with a toddler and newborn:

1. Wear your baby.

2. Now is the time to have “mise en place”! As much as you’d love to tackle a recipe from start to finish, chances are mayhem may ensue and you’ll get called away from your recipe. If you’ve got all your ingredients in place, it’ll make finishing that recipe even easier when you have a minute.

Mise En Place is Critical

3. Toddlers need to be watched like a hawk. No matter how many times I mentioned how we’d have cake when it was finished, I turn my back for a second and my 2 year old has eaten a big chunk of cake dough. Let’s hope those farm-fresh eggs won’t do any harm.

Thinking Outside the Jar: Strawberry Liqueur Update

8 Aug

After patiently waiting my almost four weeks for the vodka to extract all that fantastic strawberry flavour, today was the big reveal. I wish I could convey the full aroma of the liqueur and its perfect strawberry smell; it’s like opening “June”. The process was really simple and in a nutshell: Take some berries, throw some vodka over them, put them in a cool dark place and gently shake once a week until the four weeks are up. To complete the liqueur, I strained the berries in a large coffee filter nestled in a fine mesh strainer for crystal clear liquid and poured it into a hot and clean 1 L mason jar, where it will reside in a low traffic cupboard so it won’t lose its colour from sunlight exposure. Another idea is to get fancy and fill dark green, 250 mL wine bottles and cork it so it’s ready for gift giving. The dark green will help protect it from colour loss.  (Full instructions on how to begin found here.)

My batch yielded about 2.5 cups and although I had the best of intentions of using this as Christmas presents, one whiff and I realized I couldn’t bear to part with it. It really is that good.

It started like this:

Vodka Meets Berries

And turned into this:

Strawberry Liqueur

I tried serving the strained, boozy strawberries with a sweetened ricotta dish when I made for company and while they enjoyed the berry-turned-shooter, it was agreed that I should find another use for them. Given that I hate wasting food and they still had a lot of strawberry flavour, I decided to repurpose them into this:

Rhubarb Pineapple Strawberry Preserve

 

Rhubarb Pineapple Strawberry Preserve
* Actually, it’s closer to Kitchen Sink Preserve as I had some leftover crushed pineapple that needed to be used, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Yields: Almost 5×250 mL

4 cups diced rhubarb (frozen works fine)

1 small can of crushed pineapple, with juice

1 cup strawberries, from the strawberry liqueur

2 1/2 – 3 cups sugar

2 tbsp strawberry liqueur

1. Combine pineapple, strawberries and rhubarb and bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. When the fruit has broken down to your liking (I prefer my rhubarb more on the stewed side), add your sugar and return to a boil, stirring until jam has thickened to your liking, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add strawberry liqueur. Pour into hot, clean jars and process at 10 minutes in your boiling water bath.

These are not pectin rich ingredients and I was aiming for a very soft set and something to spoon over my morning porridge or blend into yogurt. The strawberry flavour really shines through and balances nicely with the pineapple and rhubarb. A great, impromptu preserve that takes very little effort. Enjoy!

Thinking Outside the Jar: Rosemary Apple Cider Sauteed Cabbage

27 Jul

I know proteins tend to be the star of the show, but we’ve been blessed with a fantastic CSA and the bounty of vegetables is always inspiring. I love nothing better than having vegetable sides that are as delicious as the meat and cause you to take notice. Tonight’s cabbage side stole the show:

 

Rosemary Apple Cider Sauteed Cabbage

It was served alongside other local delights, including an apple cider vinegar, butter, rosemary glazed pork chop and boiled new potatoes with pan gravy and chopped fresh garden herbs.

Here’s the lowdown on the cabbage. It’s extremely versatile and I kept it on the milder side to appeal to a toddler, so please adjust as you see fit.

1 small cabbage, shredded

3 slices of freshly smoked bacon, chopped (we get ours locally and it’s a very meat, thick cut)

1/2 apple, chopped

1 clove new garlic, chopped

1 tbsp uncanny Rosemary Apple Cider Jelly

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1/2 tsp carraway seeds

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan over medium heat, fry up chopped bacon and reserve until end. Reserve rendered fat.

2. Add in sliced cabbage, stirring frequently until cabbage has wilted. Add in apple and lower heat to low-medium. Cover until cabbage has cooked to your liking.

3. Remove cover, add in vinegar, jelly, spice and seasonings and before serving, return pieces of bacon to mixture and serve hot.

 

Garden Fresh Potatoes

The new red potatoes were simply boiled with some of the pan drippings poured over and a sprinkling of garden fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, lemon thyme and dill) and some green onions. Deliciously simple.

 

Rosemary Cider Chops

This one is compliments of my husband, Jeff. He was kind enough to butcher a roast for me and turn it into chops (I had left the whole dinner thing way too late for a roast!) and he pan seared them before glazing them with an apple cider vinegar, butter, fresh rosemary glaze. I’m not sure exactly how much of everthing he used, but it was substantial enough to coat the chops and provide enough drippings for two servings of potatoes.

 

Delicious Summer Supper

 

Voila! Dinner in a flash, with bright summer flavours. Enjoy!

 

Thinking Outside the Jar: Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Preserves

18 Jul

I made this to suit my toddler daughter, Honey Bear and her allergies to peanuts and dairy, but feel free to substitute the real deal when making these. The recipe was born out of a late night snack on a piece of toast with peanut butter and a generous slathering of Strawberry with Creme de Cacao Jam. The nuttiness from the cocoa, the peanut butter and the sweetness was like heaven together. I’m pretty sure this cookie rivels that experience:

Sunflower Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Adapted from this Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint recipe at My Recipes

 

2 cups all purpose “white” flour (closer to a whole wheat)

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup sunflower butter (recipe found here)

1/4 cup margarine

2 cups eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Jam (I used Strawberry Vanilla Bean and Strawberry with Creme de Cacao)

 

1. Combine dry ingredients.

2. Combine sugars, margarine in a large bowl or stand mixer and stir until whipped. Add eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla and gradually add in dry ingredients.

3. With oiled hands, roll out little balls of cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and indent middle with your thumb. Refigerate for one hour.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes and allow to fully cool before adding about 1/2 tsp of jam. (I got impatient and added the jam, leaving a jammy pool under the cookie. Really is best to follow directions sometimes!)

Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Vanilla Jam

 

*Cross-posted on our family’s blog: 100 Mile Locavores*

Thinking Outside the Jar: Strawberry Liqueur

12 Jul

Strawberry Liqueur, or more like the makings of it. The recipe is really simple and I’m hoping the results will be fantastic. I’ve handled almost 30 lbs of strawberries this season and I’m coming to the end of my strawberry preserves and with a batch of strawberry wine in process, I was looking for something new, delicious and can be enjoyed in the days ahead. Given that I’m almost 6 months pregnant and currently unable to enjoy this treat, my hope is with the long cellaring, I’ll have something phenomenal to enjoy this winter.  The best part, it starts with some very basic ingredients like these:

Unsprayed, Freshly Picked Strawberries

Vodka

I’m following the recipe found here at Growing a Greener World by Theresa Loe. She has some wonderful suggestions on other fruit to be preserved and Strawberry Liqueur will not be the last thing I try! I divided the ingredients into 2x1L jars for ease and stored it in a cupboard. I’m excited for the next step in four weeks time. Stay tuned!

Thinking Outside the Jar: Honey Mustard Yogurt Dip

28 Jun

Honey Mustard Yogurt Dip

 

Now that we’re finally enjoying warm weather, I try to use the stove as minimally as possible and last night was no exception. After a week long vacation in Cape Breton and an excess in rich food, we were hankering for some return to basic foods with bright, fresh flavours. We were also short on time, which is where fish comes in handy. A quick pan fry haddock, some oven baked french fries and a platter of cut veggies with this dip was the perfect Monday night meal that was whipped up in 30 minutes.

 

The dip was delicious with veggies and tasted incredible spooned over the haddock and just another way to enjoy uncanny‘s mustards.

 

Honey Mustard Yogurt Dip

Serves: 3

1 tbsp uncanny’s Honey and Tarragon Grainy Mustard

1 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp whole milk yogurt

1/2 tbsp (to taste) honey

salt and pepper to taste

Stir and serve. I like to keep the portions small so it doesn’t have a chance to get runny over time and this was the perfect amount with vegetables and fish. Hope you enjoy.

 

The Perfect Summer Dip

Thinking Outside the Jar Series: A Celebration of Spring

6 May

Pan Seared Salmon with Potato and Fiddlehead Salad

I had never discovered fiddleheads before moving out East and now it’s a familiar site to see cars lined up along the highway near the marshes to pick the unfurled ferns. If you’ve never tried a fiddlehead, it’s a bit like asparagus, but needs to be prepared in a very different way. Because of the fronds, you should soak fiddleheads and rinse them well and they need to be steamed for about 20 minutes to reduce any risk of bacteria before they’re served or sauteed.

A familiar way to enjoy them, at least in our neck of the woods, is with vinegar. While I haven’t quite acquired the taste for steamed fiddleheads with vinegar, the following recipe relies on the acid from a lemon along with the tang and bite of a grainy mustard. I’ve slightly adapted a recipe that belongs to Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh from her cookbook ”A Year in Niagara: The People and Food of Wine Country”, a book I highly recommend. She sections the cookbook up  into months with Niagara wine recommendations and the kinds of seasonally available ingredients (although, there’s no way I’m getting new potatoes in May and I live near the potato capital of Canada!). It’s inspiring and perfect for getting your culinary juices flowing.

Seared Salmon on Fiddleheads & New Potatoes

Adapted by Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh

4 6 oz salmon fillets, with skin (I used steaks; they were on sale)

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

16 small new potatoes, lightly scrubbed and left whole (or about 4 large potatoes, scrubbed)

2 cups trimmed fiddleheads

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil and flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (I reduced to 1/3 cup and it was sufficient)

2 tsp uncanny’s Honey and Tarragon mustard

juice of one lemon

1. Soak fiddleheads in cold water.

2. Rub the salmon all over with the 2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add a little salt and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Place the soaked and rinsed fiddleheads in a steamer (or sieve) and set over potatoes. Drain the potatoes and the fiddleheads, then plunge quickly and briefly in cold water. Drain again and let sit for a minute. Halve/quarter each potato. Place the potatoes and fiddleheads in a bowl with the chives, basil and parsley, the 1/3 cup olive oil, mustard and seasoning. Toss together to thoroughly coat the vegetables and cover the bowl loosely with a tea towel while you finish the salmon.

3. Heat a large frying pan until it is searingly hot. Add salmon to the hot pan, cut side down and fry cook until seared brown. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Serve with salad and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice on fish and salad.

Plenty of Salad for Leftovers

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