Tempt Every Palate

Jam Making with Kids

2014-08-27T08:14:00.001-04:00

Growing up on a hobby farm, the Fall months meant making ‘preserves’ for eating in the long winter months. We used fruits that we either grew or purchased from local farmers. I learned at a very young age how to make jam, fruit butters, and jellies with my Mother.

In those days, that task was very labor intensive. It involved long hours of simmering the fruit in a large pot, on top of the stove. Mom used lemons or apples as a natural source of pectin. Pectin is what makes the jam set. After the jam thickened, Mom poured it into sterilized jars and then sealed each of the jars using hot paraffin wax. My job was to cut pieces of string and carefully place them into the middle of the hot paraffin. Later it was used to pull the cold wax seal from the jar in order to access the delicious home made preserves.

Things have become a lot easier in our modern world. Today we have two types of jam that we can make and both are very easy. There is boiled, which is stored in glass jars with sterilized two piece lids and no cook jam which does not require any cooking.

Kids love being involved in the kitchen. Today’s conveniently packaged pectin, makes jam making easy with the little ones. Even if you are a new cook you will be in and out of the kitchen within half an hour. Here is a simple recipe for quick and easy Strawberry Freezer Jam. I chose strawberries because they are available year round at most grocery stores.

For best results use your berries within 24 hours after purchase. The kids can help out by counting the cleaned berries and putting them into pie plates. Let each child take a turn crushing the berries with a potato masher and measuring them into a glass measuring cup. Once you have added the sugar and pectin, let them help stir the mixture.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

1 quart strawberries, cleaned

4 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch of liquid pectin specifically for freezer jam

2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Remove the stems and crush the strawberries one layer at a time using a potato masher. Using a pie plate makes the mashing an easy surface to work on. Measure 1 ¾ cups of berries into a large bowl.

2. Add the sugar to the fruit and mix it well. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the liquid fruit pectin and lemon juice. Stir the jam until the sugar is dissolved.

4. Carefully pour ladle the jam into clean plastic jars or plastic containers. Plastic is best if you are going to freeze your jam. Glass can break once it is frozen. A preserving funnel (a wide-bottomed funnel available at most cookware or hardware stores) will make the job easier.

5. Do not over fill your containers. You want to make sure there is enough space to allow the jam to freeze properly without expanding and popping the lids off in the freezer. In order to have your jam set properly. Use jars or plastic containers that hold approximately 1 cup.

6. Let the jam set at room temperature until it sets. That could take 24 hours. Store in the freezer. The jam may also be stored in the refrigerator if you intend on eating it within three weeks. The recipe makes 5 cups.

While the jam is setting get your kids to design their own labels and decorative tops. My kids liked to use store stickers, brown craft paper with twine for tying, bits of scrap fabric also work with an elastic band holding it in place and then tied with a piece of string or ribbon. My boys decorated paper lunch bags using markers and rubber stamps. You can imagine how pleased their grandparents were to receive this gift.

Whether you keep it or give it away as a gift there is nothing quite like the taste of home-made preserves on a piece of toast. Preserving with kids is a great family activity.

*Tip: Making jam is a great activity for a kid’s birthday party. It is even more fun and educational for the kids to go to a farm and pick their own fruit.

*Check out ‘Beatrice and the Snow People’ a great chapter book for ages 9-11. It's available online.

Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward. ~Terri Guillemets

Put the Hot into Chocolate!

2013-02-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

I have always loved ice skating. I was only four years old when I started. I wore two bladed skates. Eventually I graduated to figure skates. It was around then that I went to an indoor arena with my friend Fran. We are still friends now after all of these years.

When we moved to the country there was nothing finer than going out to the field, where water had settled and froze. Pools of water turned into huge rinks for skating. We lived down the road from a forest and swamp. Hidden inside the bullrushes and sassafras shrubs, was a nugget of a find, a natural pond. Dad would test it, shovel the snow off and we would skate to our hearts content. After we were worn out from the fresh air and exercise we would walk home to where Mom had a nice cup of hot cocoa waiting.

In those days hot chocolate was always made with cocoa. Eventually hot chocolate mixes came out that were very convenient but for me their taste was not the same.

During my days of working as a museum registrar, I catalogued a chocolate pot. It was probably used in the 1850’s. It had a hole in the top of its porcelain base and had a molinillo, a stirring rod. A handle jutted from the side of the pot so that the cook could hold it over the heat. Chocolate in those days was solid and gritty and had to be melted to make it a tasty drink. It was mixed with water.

At one time in history hot chocolate was a more popular drink than coffee or tea. The Cyclopaedia: or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature, says chocolate was “esteemed not only an excellent food, as being very nourishing , but also as a good medicine; at least a diet, for keeping up the warmth of the stomach , and assisting digestion.”

I contacted Éric Normand for some more information. He is a chocolatier in Quebec City. He has an amazing website and what fascinated me the most was his virtual museum at http://www.chocomusee.com/visite_en.shtml .

Chocolate used in beverages has a long and interesting history. It has been used medicinally and for feeding the troops during the American Revolution. Many of the soldier’s diaries listed chocolate as a common provision indicating that they breakfasted on the chocolate beverage alone.

Whether you use a mix or cocoa everyone can agree that hot chocolate is a wonderful treat on a cold winter’s day. Here is a great recipe for a party:

Gloria’s Hot Mocha Cocoa

1 cup of chocolate syrup

1/3 cup of black coffee

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 quart 2% milk

1 quart of fat free half and half

Combine all of the ingredients into a large pot. Stir until well blended. Cover and simmer on low until it is ready for serving hot in mugs.

*This recipe makes nine servings.

At no other time has Nature concentrated such a wealth of valuable nourishment into such a small space as in the cocoa bean. ~Alexander von Humboldt

Photo's courtesy of Éric Normand .

If you need a freelance writer please consider contacting me for further info. Thanks for reading the blog.

Time for Haggis!

2013-01-14T09:27:00.000-05:00

Once a year my parents would bring out the hand cranked sausage- maker to make hurka. Hurka is a Hungarian sausage made from organ meats such as pork liver, lungs, head meat, rice, and onions. After encased and twisted into individual sausages, they were then boiled in water. Mom would later fry them up. I was pretty grossed out as a kid and refused to eat the hurka because it contained organ meat. Later in life, I developed a taste for it. For some reason hurka reminds me of haggis, probably because when I was a child, it too was made using several different organ meats. Things have changed regarding that usage today. Since Robbie Burn's Day is approaching on January 25^th, I contacted my friend Alastair Barnett to share his thoughts and recipe about this Scottish culinary treasure. Here’s what he had to say:

When I first arrived in the US, many moons ago from Scotland, I was regularly asked, “What exactly is haggis?” Being young and full of nonsense I exacerbated the myth by telling everyone: “A haggis is a fat wee hairy beastie that flies low o’er the Scottish moors in January. The best way to catch them is in a net, but you have to be quick.”

I’m much older now — still full of nonsense — but I will tell you that this is not the case, they’re not hairy at all!

Haggis is a tasty mix of lamb, beef, oatmeal, onion, seasoning and spices in a natural casing. The haggis is usually fully cooked when you buy it and needs only to be baked, steamed or micro waved to piping hot. I never boil mine. Maligned or not, in every country around the globe where Robert Burn’s birthday is celebrated, haggis is proudly served.

Alastair’s Haggis Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Drambuie Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Portobello mushrooms

2 medium ice-cream scoops haggis.

Mashed potato or potato and turnips mixed.

Your favourite shredded cheese.

1 tablespoon cooking oil

2 strips of smoky bacon

Brush or wipe the mushrooms. Fry two strips of bacon remove from pan and dice and mix into warm haggis. Sautee mushrooms on both sides until just barely tender. (about four minutes each side. Don’t overcook. Mushrooms should be firm. Remove and place in ramekin hollow side up. Spoon haggis into the centre. With a pastry bag, pipe around the edge of the dish with the mashed potato or turnip and potato mixture. Brush with melted butter. Pour two tablespoons of Drambuie sauce over haggis. Lightly sprinkle your favourite cheese on top of haggis and bake in 425° oven for about 10-15 minutes until potato is lightly browned and haggis is heated through. Don’t allow the haggis to dry. Remove from oven. Spoon the remaining sauce over haggis just before serving.

Drambuie Sauce

Ingredients:

150ml. double cream

100ml Drambuie

1 teaspoon runny honey

Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Heat the Drambuie in a small saucepan, and reduce by half. Turn down the heat slightly and stir in the double cream and honey. Continue to stir, and cook on low heat until combined and thickened. Don’t singe it. Add a wee pinch of salt and pepper to taste. If it fails to thicken because the cream is not heavy enough, throw in a knob of butter mixed with a spoon of flour. *Stir in a small amount of honey to the sauce at the end to lift the flavour of the Drambuie, taste as you go, stir in an extra dash of Drambuie just before serving.

Address to the Haggis

Opening stanza: The beauty of this poem is, if you make a mistake when reciting it — nobody knows!

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm :

Weel are ye wordy o'a grace

As lang's my arm…

Robert Burns

NB: My thanks to the villagers of Fearnan in the Perthshire Highlands (where I grew up) who contributed: Why not pay them a visit and say hello? http://tinyurl.com/7kbxqdh

Thanks also to McSweens of Edinburgh: “Guardians of

Scotland

’s’ National Dish.”

Check out the formalities of a Burn’s dinner here http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_burns_supper.htm .
For more info on Alastair check out http://www.thewritingbutler.com/

Spuds & Soup!!!

2012-11-26T07:35:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up there were two things that were certain. We ate potatoes and soup daily, year round. My parents grew enough potatoes to sell and the rest we stored in our root cellar. I remember my mom giving a friend a fifty pound bag of ‘spuds’ every October. They were very poor and there were seven kids to feed. There was always a place at their table for me and I’ll never forget going there for supper on many occasions where we ate potatoes and gravy. That was it. The best potatoes ever!

There was a lesson to be learned and that was that giving is better than greed. Mom saw a need and without a word gave this family something they desperately needed in order to survive. It also taught me to never look down on anybody because you never know what is really going on in someone else’s life. At this time of the year open your heart and donate to your local Food Bank. Many people are still going without.

Potatoes were never that exciting for me. They involved a lot of work. In March I had to help my mom cut the potatoes in the root cellar into quarters. Each piece had to have an ‘eye’. Then after dad ploughed the field, we had to drop a potato quarter into the rows about a foot apart. Later we covered them with dirt and watched them grow. In the summer I had to walk along the rows and squish potato bugs. It sounds gross but it was a lot safer than using insecticides.

I was thrilled the year that ‘Mr. Potato Head’ came out. In those days we used real potatoes. I loved pushing plastic feet, hands, hats, eyes, moustaches into them.

Now that I am older I can take potatoes or leave them. I still make a lot of soups though, that require them. Here is a hardy recipe that will fill you up on a cold day. Enjoy!

Potato-Vegetable Soup

6 cups chicken broth or vegetable

3 potatoes cubed

2 carrots diced

2 stalks of celery sliced

2 cups broccoli, in small florets

1/4 cup butter

2 cups milk

to taste salt & pepper

In a large pot combine broth and potatoes. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add carrots and celery, cook 5 minutes. Add florets of broccoli and simmer until all vegetables are tender crisp, about 5 minutes. In medium saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup (250 ml) of broth from the soup. Cook on low heat until slightly thickened. Blend into rest of broth. Heat to serving temperature, but do not boil. Season with salt and pepper if desired. * I like grated cheese on mine.

Worries go down better with soup.

~Jewish Proverb

From Pumpkins to Pickles...

2012-10-28T07:02:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid I could hardly wait for Halloween. I was especially excited about all of the candy that I would get when I went Trick or Treating. In those days I wore home made costumes and carried a six quart basket for all of the loot. Some people gave out apples and those got tossed into the ditch to make room for more candy. It was such an enjoyable time. I remember dumping my candy onto the living-room rug and sorting it into different categories like toffee, chips, liquorice etc. I was allowed to eat a few things but the rest was put away for another day. I am certain that the minute I went to bed my parents nibbled away on some of the sweets. OK, I confess that I did that with my own kids.

When my own kid’s were small we decorated our house with lots of Jack-o-lanterns, scary music, spider webs etc. The next day we tossed the Jack-o-lanterns into the compost bin. If I had a particularly large pumpkin I would salvage what I could and bake the section that wasn’t burnt by candle wax. The pumpkin got scraped from its outer shell, mashed and was used to make pumpkin loaf or muffins. It freezes very well.

In one of my local cookbooks I found a recipe for ‘Pickled Pumpkin’. Since I like to try unusual recipes when canning and preserving, this one fits the bill perfectly.

Pickled Pumpkin

5-6 lbs. pumpkin pared

1 pt. white vinegar

3 lbs. sugar

1 tsp. whole cloves

1 tbsp. cinnamons stick broken

2 pieces crystallized ginger

Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes.

Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil and shimmer until the sugar is dissolved.

Place the cloves, cinnamon, ginger into a small piece of cheese cloth and tie.

Add to the syrup and boil for 5 minutes.

Add the pumpkin and bring the mixture back to a fast rolling boil

Boil over low heat exactly 25 minutes, stirring often.

Remove the spice bag.

Place the pumpkin into sterilized jars, pour the vinegar syrup on top to completely cover and seal.

This makes about 5-6 pints.

I make this recipe now, when Halloween pumpkins are in abundance. This recipe is a delicious and unique gift to give at Christmas as a small hostess gift. It’s tasty with pork and poultry.

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.
~Author Unknown

*I grew up outside of a small town called Waterford. The town has created a major tourist attraction every year close to Halloween called ‘The Waterford Pumpkin Festival’. You can read all about it http://www.pumpkinfest.com/index.html . In view of the fact that Halloween is coming up next week I would strongly recommend the following site www.1Halloween.net . It’s safe for kids and has lots of great ideas.

Joe's Apple Pie

2012-10-19T05:51:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid my parents owned a restaurant called ‘Joe’s Lunch’. My dad had learned to cook during the war and he ran the kitchen of our restaurant. I was pretty young then but I do have some fond memories from that time in my life.

One thing my dad taught me, when I was quite young was to make pie pastry. At the restaurant, he made about thirty plus pies per day. He never used a recipe but I remember to this day what he said, “That all of the ingredients had to be really cold to make the best pastry.” My father used lard for pie dough. I think that it still makes the best crust, flaky and tasty. Aside from the fat content and calories eating it once in awhile is a treat.

I remember my dad and me standing in our kitchen. We both wore white aprons. Dad pulled a large pottery bowl down from the cupboard. In it, he mixed the pie dough ingredients quickly. We had a large wooden pastry and pasta board. My father put that onto the kitchen table to roll the dough out. I got to have the bits and pieces that were left over to roll and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Since apple is my favourite pie, here is my dad’s recipe:

Joe’s Apple Pie

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chilled natural lard

1/3 cup ice water

In a large bowl using two table knives, cut the cold lard into the flour and salt. The mixture should end up being the size of peas. Divide the dough in half and shape both halves into thick disks. Refrigerate the pastry in a bowl covered with a damp towel while you make your filling.

Filling

6 pie apples

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoon flour

Peel, core and slice the apples. Dad used Spy’s but other varieties like Granny Smith also taste great. Sprinkle the apples with about one teaspoon of lemon juice. This not only adds to the flavour but also keeps the apples from turning brown. Sprinkle the apples with 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir the apples so that they are covered with all of the ingredients.

Flour the pastry board generously as well as the rolling pin. Roll one of the pastry disks 2 inches larger than an inverted pie plate with a floured rolling pin. Roll from the centre out. Don't use the rolling pin to go back and forth, move counter-clockwise, repeat. You want the crust as evenly rolled as you can.

Fold pastry into quarter folds and ease into pie plate, pressing firmly against bottom and sides of pie plate. Take the apples and mound them into the pie plate, dot with butter. Roll the top dough and follow the same instructions as for the bottom. Place over the top of the pie making sure to seal the edges. Use a fork to pierce various holes into the top of the pie.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about an hour. Each oven will vary so make sure that it is a golden brown colour and that the filling is bubbling and thickened. Let cool on rack. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

This recipe for an apple pie is not that unique. What makes it special for me is that my dad and I made them together. My dad passed away last week on October 11^th, 2012 in his 86^th year. It’s the little pleasantries in life that we remember. I love you dad and miss you!

In Loving Memory of Joseph Vegso

1926-2012

Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.

Thomas Fuller

Pantyhose and Cake!

2012-10-11T06:57:00.002-04:00

My Mother passed away almost three years ago. We shared a lot of interests and one of those was cooking. Mom was a great letter writer and I am happy that I saved the correspondence she had sent to me. She wrote about her day to day cooking, canning and baking. She always included clippings of recipes, and articles that interested her.

Since Mom grew up in the depression she never wasted anything. An example of this is a recipe she sent to me for her version of ‘Cottage Pudding’. She had written it on the cardboard that a new pair of pantyhose had been wrapped around.

As a kid I loved ‘Cottage Pudding’. When the weather was getting cooler, it was one of those comfort foods whose aroma of maple syrup combined with cake, greeted me after school. The smell of it still reminds me of home.

The word’s maple syrup and maple sugar kindle fond memories of a quieter, more relaxed time in the past. Maple syrup is a pure product that results from the efforts of many labour-intensive and time-consuming hours. Although laborious to produce, the finished product is well worth the effort.

The first time I read about maple syrup was in a letter written by William Jarvis (secretary and registrar of Upper Canada) in 1793. He wrote to his father-in-law from Niagara, “…My cellar is stored with 3 barrels of wine, 3 of cider, 2 of apples (for my darling), and a good stock of butter. My cock-lift contains some of the finest maple sugar I ever beheld, 10,000lbs. was made in an Indian village near Michellemackinac. We have 150 lb. of it…Also plenty of good flour, cheese, coffee, loaf sugar…”

It doesn’t matter at what stage in life you are; this is a dessert that anyone can make. There are many versions of this recipe. Sometimes the cake is served warm with a lemon, chocolate or butterscotch sauce. I use my mother’s recipe.

Mom’s Cottage Pudding

Oil a 9 inch square baking pan.

Add ¾ cup of maple syrup with ¾ cup of water into a small saucepan. Bring this to a slight boil and pour it into the prepared pan.

Beat together:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

½ teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/3 cup shortening

1 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Gradually add ¾ cup of milk to the above and mix well. Spoon the cake batter over the maple syrup, and bake it at an oven temp of 350 for 55-60 minutes. Serve it warm spooning the sauce over the top. Yum!

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.

John Ed Pearce

I am a Professional Freelance Writer. If you require a writer please contact me at: tempteverypalate@gmail.com .

Let's Make Cooking Easy With Convenience Foods !

2012-09-30T07:53:00.000-04:00

Photo of drying Buffalo meat for pemmican

Today there are so many convenience foods available that if we buy the right ingredients and have them on hand, anyone can cook. They save the consumer time in the kitchen because they are quick, require very little preparation, are packaged for a long shelf life and can be purchased frozen, chilled, boxed or canned. They require few cooking skills.

Canada has a long and interesting ‘convenience food’ history. Before the invention of commercial food preservation methods, Canada’s First Nations people relied on their own convenience food called ‘pemmican’. It was very nutritious, portable and long-lasting. Dried meat was combined with berries and fat. Pemmican was stored in bison-skin bags called ‘parfleches’ that were sealed with melted lard. As the skins dried, they shrank, compressing the pemmican creating a vacuum seal which kept the contents from spoiling. First Nations people sold pemmican, as a convenience food, to the Hudson Bay Company in the 1820’s. European fur traders bought it at the HBC to take with them on their travels.

Breakfast cereals are a well know convenience food. In 1930, three doctors in Ontario invented Pablum. It was a nutritious pre-cooked, vitamin enriched baby cereal that was easy and fast to prepare.

During World War II, all available food was sent overseas to feed Canada’s military. This created a food shortage for civilians. The Canadian Government issued War Ration Books to each family to guarantee that everyone got a fair supply of staples like milk, cheese, sugar, butter, coffee and tea. Home cooks had to make do with less ingredients and substitutions. Cookbooks, magazines and government pamphlets introduced new meatless recipes as well as sugarless and eggless baking. In 1937, J.L. Kraft, originally from Ontario, introduced Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. His timeing, when there were food shortages , had a lot to do with its success. Convenience foods are very profitable and their development has had a lot to do with the manufacturer’s point of view regarding the sales potential of the product.

After the war, foods like cake mixes and dehydrated juices were introduced to the Canadian public. Pre-packaged foods were invented by the military in order to feed the post war population increase. New products developed at a rapid pace. By 1962, research scientist Edward Asselbergs, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, invented instant mashed potato flakes. They were sold as a packaged convenience food that could be reconstituted by adding hot water or milk. It was sold world-wide.

A hundred years ago the average grocery store had about one hundred food items for sale. Thirty years ago there was a choice of approximately eight thousand items. Today’s modern grocery stores have more than 17,850 convenience foods to choose from. Every Canadian household uses convenience foods in one form or another.

A few of my handy staples include: canned tomatoes (whole, diced or crushed), flour, sugar, bouillon cubes of various flavours, an assortment of pasta’s, rice, spices, canned salmon and tuna, peanut butter, frozen vegetables and fruits etc..

When my kids were young they would pitch in and help make “Clean Out the Fridge Soup”. The reason I called it that was so that we could take anything that was a left over, meat or a vegetable (all within reason and food safety in mind) and incorporate it into a pot of home-made soup. Here is a simple recipe that my mom made for a basic tomato soup. By jazzing it up with what you have in the fridge it can become your original recipe and a hardy meal.

Basic Tomato Soup

1/2 cup of celery, chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large can of crushed of tomatoes

1 can of water or stock

Salt and pepper to taste.

Add a bit of oil, usually about 2-3 tablespoons, to the bottom of a soup pot. Sauté ½ cup of celery and 1 onion in the oil. *While you are at it see what’s in the fridge if you have carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, or any other veg chop that up and add that to the pot. Sometimes I add a bit of fried bacon, sliced wieners, or leftover cooked sausage. Add the can of tomatoes and then fill the same can with water or stock and add that to the pot. If I don’t have stock I add low sodium bouillon cubes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the pot to a low boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. You can add about one cup of cooked elbow macaroni to this or left over cooked rice if you like, some canned chickpeas or any other canned beans. You can eat it as is or add a few toppings for added interest like a spoon of sour cream, yogurt, pumpkin seeds or grated cheese, a sprinkle of a fresh herb or parsley. It is all good and nutritious.

The main point is to get a feel for cooking. It doesn’t need to be a big production. Convenience foods make the job a lot easier. Enjoy!

When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste.

Laiko Bahrs

Photo courtesy of http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_metis/fp_metis3.html

Keep on Blogging...

2012-09-26T06:17:00.000-04:00

Having grown up on a small hobby farm where we grew what we ate, I was lucky that all of the women in my life cooked from ‘scratch’. I also lived in a multicultural neighbourhood where I developed a taste for and an interest in international cookery. Those days are long gone. So are organizations that included demonstrations of food preparation, like the Women’s Institutes, IODE, 4 H Clubs, and Women’s Auxiliaries. Schools no longer teach Home Economics where both boys and girls had the opportunity to learn cooking basics. I am generalizing here as this is what has happened in my community.

It seems that there are more TV cooking shows on now than at any other time in history. Yet, fewer people cook meals at home. Many eat out or pick up convenience foods. I have thought about this for some time now and feel that part of the problem is that young people do not know how to cook. They have never seen it take place in their home so how would they know what to do to make something as simple as a scrambled egg.

My intentions are to continue the blog as it is but to also use it as a vehicle to hopefully draw in a younger readership. This can only happen if I include topics that might teach a younger person either a method, a history of the food or a comparative recollection of today’s world versus the days when I grew up. The main ingredient though is to create enthusiasm, something that seems to be lacking in today’s technological world.

Try to think outside of the box (literally) regarding what you put into your mouth. You can be assured that this blog will ‘Tempt Every Palate’.

Chemicals, n: Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. ~Author Unknown

I am available for any type of freelance writing opportunities. E-mail me for a CV.

The Beautiful Peach!

2012-09-04T07:33:00.001-04:00

With all of the talk this year regarding the lack of rain, the peach crop has produced some of the best tasting peaches I have eaten in a long time. My folks grew peaches and my dad was into grafting. So he created a few of his own varieties. Overall my favourite choice is the Red Haven.

Peaches have a long history and were found growing in China over 4000 years ago. For the ancient Chinese they symbolized long life and immortality. Eventually peaches and their cultivation moved westward. Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, noted in her diary that peaches were grown in Niagara in 1792.

That area’s unique climate and soil conditions make the area suitable for the growing of fruit. Very little was grown commercially before 1861. Eventually the area was developed into a thriving fruit growing industry.

When I was a kid we enjoyed visiting my paternal grandparents. They owned a large fruit farm outside of Beamsville, a small town then, close to St. Catherine’s. They grew several types of fruit including peaches for 'Fruitland Ontario'. Needless to say I was never in want of peaches year round. Between canning them and freezing them my mother made sure of that. Peaches that fell from the trees were the ones used in jam making and marmalades while the best were kept for pies and crisps. My favourite way to eat a peach is to peel it and eat it down to the pit. Of course you cannot complain about peaches and cream.

Last summer one of my long-time friend’s Ian Ross bought himself a Honda Silver Wing motorcycle. He had driven down from Elliot Lake to attend the annual Niagara Peach Festival. He bought a peach pie at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He froze the pie overnight at a friend’s house. Then next day he placed it in a compartment on top of the engine so it warmed up on his ride up to Guelph. I could hardly wait for his arrival. The pie was thawed and ready to eat with some delicious vanilla ice-cream. Now if that isn’t being in heaven I don’t know what is!

There are lots of recipes for using peaches in all kinds of cuisine, including curries. The following is one for an interesting jam my mom used to make. I made a few jars last week and they turned out delicious. Give it a try.

Peach and Cantaloupe Conserve

1.25 cantaloupe, peeled, diced (about 1.3 kg)

1.25L peaches, peeled, diced (about 1.4 kg)

25ml grated orange rind

200mL orange juice

1.25 L sugar

Combine cantaloupe, peaches, orange rind and juice. Add sugar. Bring mixture to full rolling boil and cook until thick (about 30 min), stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Stir and skim 5 min. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 1.5 L.

*If this doesn’t thicken to your liking, it is a great topping for ice-cream and other desserts. Enjoy!

If two or three persons should come with a high spiritual aim and with great powers, the world would fall into their hands like a ripe peach.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am currently looking for any freelance writing opportunities. Please contact me if you are aware of any writing gigs. References are available upon request.

The Magical Rowan

2012-08-10T06:08:00.004-04:00

Although my physical relationship with the village of Fearnan in the Scottish Highlands ended long ago, the close spiritual bond has lasted a lifetime. This historic highland village not only provided a refuge during the stormy war years for my family, it invoked a sense of mystery, and yielded a kaleidoscope of vivid memories: Even today it is not difficult to visualize the village life as it was then, and when I close my eyes, just for a moment I believe I can see the white- capped waves on the loch and hear the children’s voices carried on the wind as they tumble from the schoolhouse at the end of the day.

In the autumn, Mr. McLaren, the village tailor, like the Pied Piper, would lead us wee “bairns” through the brilliant hedgerows to gather hazelnuts, and on our return, his kindly wife would serve us bowls of wild brambles with fresh cream while we all settled to crack open our harvest by the hearth.

It was a time for gathering Rowan Berries. Every cottage in the Highlands had a Rowan Tree (Mountain Ash) planted at the gate to ward off evil spirits and to this day when you come across ruins in the hills you can find the stalwart rowan flourishing still where the cottage gate once stood.

Rowan berries make the most delicious jelly and here is a simple Scottish recipe that will sure to please. It’s traditionally served with game and lamb in the highlands but today is also delicious with cheeses and pate’s.

I have searched in vain in North America for a commercial Rowan Jelly. Why not be the first to surprise your guests with this delectable treat?

Rowan Jelly

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (900g) Rowan Berries

2lbs. (900g) Crab Apples

3 pints Water

Sugar: See measurements below.

Makes 3 – 4lbs (1.4 – 1.8g)

Method:

Remove stalks and wash berries. Wash crab apples.

Place fruit in heavy bottomed pot and just cover with water.

Bring to boil covered until tender (about 30 minutes)

Strain through Jelly bag or muslin cloth for at least 4 hours. Overnight is fine. DO NOT SQUEEZE BAG. (I did first time and the jelly was cloudy.)

Measure liquid and measure sugar: Measure the volume of the liquid; add 450 g (1lb. of sugar for each pint (600ml) of liquid.

Heat sugar in oven-proof dish in preheated oven (300F) is fine. Place the juice back into heavy saucepan. Add sugar, stirring until fully dissolved. Bring to boil and boil rapidly for 10-15 minutes until at setting point is reached (where a spoonful gel’s on a plate). Remove any foam if necessary.

Fill sterilized jars with the jelly and seal while still hot. Label later when cool. Enjoy!

Guest Blog by Alastair Barnett who commenced his career in the hotel business at an early age. He apprenticed to Mr. Bill Heptinstall, patron de maison and chef at the remote but famous Fortingall Hotel in the Scottish Highlands. (http://www.fortingall.com/)

After a three-year stint in the Royal Air Force, (where he was placed in charge of Officers' Catering) he continued his vocation in the hospitality business in the UK, and the US. Over a period of 25 years he has owned and operated several fine-dining restaurants in the Victoria area of British Columbia.

Once retired from the hospitality business Alastair embarked on a lifetime dream

to become a freelance writer www.thewritingbutler.com .

He loves to cook for his friends. He enjoys producing fresh produce from a small garden

at his home on the outskirts of Victoria, British Columbia.

A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.

~Thomas Keller

The Joy Of Summer...Currants!

2012-08-05T07:46:00.005-04:00

The great thing about Facebook is that you can keep in touch with friends you may never meet or see on a regular basis. Last Sunday was my birthday and due to circumstances I spent the day alone. There is nothing wrong with that scenario. I certainly remember my party days but sometimes quiet is good. Anyway I received several birthday wishes on Facebook including one from my friend Deb. She referred to me as “her oldest friend (not in years)”. It is true we go way back to age five. When I moved to the country to a hobby farm, she lived across the road on a really large vegetable, fruit and flower farm.

It’s funny how we remember the strangest little events. Deb and I were out at her red currant bushes on a hot summer day. Her Mother, who was originally from Edinburgh, always had some sort of biscuits, that day she gave us some saltine crackers for a snack. Deb showed me how to pick the juicy red berries and quickly squish them between two crackers. Delicious! On that day I was sold on currants.

My Mom got a red currant bush and made jelly every year. What a delightful spread on toast or in between the layers of a homemade cake. When I had my own home I also grew red currants for jelly. Here is my recipe for a no cook jelly combining currants and raspberries.

Red Currant and Raspberry Jelly

The balance of the fruits is the most important first step to making this jelly. The red currants are high in pectin, the ingredient that makes the jelly set, whereas the raspberries have very little. Buy organic berries or your jelly may fail to set due to modern soft fruit cultivation and artificial ripening processes. Both can cause unusual results.

2 lb raspberries

4 lb red currants

3-4 lb granulated sugar

Wash and clean the currants the best that you can. If you have picked them yourself they will have irritating little green stems. At some point you may get tired of trying to remove every one of them. So don’t. Combine both the currants and the raspberries in a bowl. Mom used a potato masher and so do I to crush the berries. Pour the fruit mixture through a fine sieve, into a bowl, to extract the juice.

Weigh the juice and for every pound add 1 ½ lb of sugar. Stir the sugar into the juice until the sugar is totally dissolved. This could take ten minutes or more.

Pour the mixture into small sterilized jars, and then put on the lids and rings if you are using regular canning jars. If you live where you are guaranteed eight hours of continuous sunshine put the jars outside for that period of time, take inside, and repeat the next day. If sunshine is not available put them on a tray into a low temp oven for eight hours. Let them set.

If for some reason the jelly doesn’t set don’t throw it out. Save it, refrigerate it, and use it as sauce on vanilla ice-cream. It makes for a nice Christmas dessert.

It is my hope that the younger reader’s out there will try to keep some of these traditional recipes going. Sure it’s easier to buy mass produced but by making your own you know what is in the product. There is something very satisfying when someone asks you where you got your jelly and you say, “It’s home-made!”

Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that's where I renew my springs that never dry up.

Pearl Buck

About Lovage

2012-07-02T18:03:00.006-04:00

In 1927 my mother, who was only six months old, and my grandmother, traveled from

Czechoslovakia

to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Aside from the usual things a woman would carry at that time, my grandmother brought three other things in her luggage; an envelope which contained hot pepper seeds, a small jar of soil from her homeland, and a container of lovage seeds. In

Czechoslovakia

, lovage, at one time was considered an aphrodisiac and girls hung sachets around their necks when meeting their lovers.

I grew up on a ten acre hobby farm and as long as I can remember we grew lovage. Since the leaves taste like celery, my mom used it in several recipes including: soups, potato salad, casseroles and stews. She would also use the leaves to make cough syrup by combining them with honey, lemon, and a bit of water simmered and then stored in a jar. If we got a cold and cough we took a tablespoon of the syrup. It sure beat the taste of commercial cough syrups. The leaves freeze well and are great in chicken soup on a cold winter’s day.

Lovage has a long history. The Romans and Greeks used it and so did Native Americans. Its high vitamin C content was invaluable to early sailors when eaten to avoid scurvy. Throughout Europe it is widely used in several recipes and is even candied. In

Italy

leaves are put on slices of mozzarella cheese with olive oil drizzled on top. It is one of the ingredients found in Maggi soup cubes. Try lovage as a stir stick for a Bloody Mary. Or chop some up and eat it in yogurt like they do in the Middle East. Lovage leaves are very pungent so get used to the flavour before you go gung-ho with it.

The seeds have a strong, unique taste and offer a distinct flavor to herb breads and cookies. Ground finely the powdered seeds can be used as a pepper substitute.

Since it is summer here is a recipe for a chilled soup:

Cold Lovage Soup

1 large onion

2 cups of chopped potatoes

2 tblsp of butter

4 tblsp finely chopped lovage leaves

31/2 cups of chicken stock

2/3 cup of heavy cream

Finely chop the onion, then peel and chop the potatoes. Melt the butter in a heavy sauce pan and fry the onion until it is just soft. Stir in the lovage leaves just for a few seconds. Add the chopped potatoes, stock, season and cook for about 30 minutes. Blend in a food processor and then return it to the saucepan. Whisk in the cream, season, and then chill for at least an hour. You can use low fat yogurt or sour cream instead of the heavy cream. Just before serving try adding 2 tblsp of fresh orange juice for a summery flavour.

The last time I saw my mother, July 2009, we held hands and walked around the property. Aside from loading me up with rhubarb, she picked me a huge bunch of lovage for soup. My mom passed away on Jan. 7, 2010. I have a lot of memories of her but our last encounter and the lovage really resonate even today.

Soup is liquid comfort. ~Author Unknown

The Taste of Roses

2012-06-03T09:35:00.000-04:00

On my first trip to Athens I stayed in a student hostel. One of those really cheap dives with a lot of spirit and camaraderie. A fellow I had met there gave me a box of what I thought was chocolates. Inside was a chewy candy dusted with powdered sugar. The rubbery textured sweet had a familiar smell to it but I couldn’t identify it until I had a bite. It tasted like roses. Loukoumi, is the Greek version of ‘Turkish Delight’. It was flavoured with rosewater.

Before vanilla became commercially available, scented waters were used in cookery. One of the most common was rose water. It was used to flavour food as early as the fourteenth century, where there are recipes using it in French cookbooks. It is hardly used today except by people of Middle Eastern descent who use it in combination with saffron to flavour rice dishes as well as sweets.

I bought a small bottle of it at my local bulk store. Rosewater is less concentrated than other extracts so more can be used in a recipe. Each bottle differs in intensity of flavour from one brand to another. Begin with a little and then add more to taste if you like.

What to flavour with rosewater:

Use it in rice pudding or vanilla ice-cream by adding 1 teaspoon of flavouring per cup and mixing it well.

Add 1 tablespoon of rosewater to mayonnaise to flavour chicken salad.

Try adding one teaspoon of rosewater to one half cup of butter, delicious on a muffin or scone.

Add some to flavour vinegar

Use a bit in an apple pie filling.

Try making your own rosewater by following the instructions at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rose-water-how-to-make-your-own.html . It is also a great skin freshener.

Rosewater and Lemon Cookies

4 ½ tablespoons of butter softened

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of rosewater

2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest

1 ½ cups of flour

1 ¼ teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add your eggs and beat thoroughly.

Add the rosewater. Turn your mixer off after it is well blended into the mixture.

Using a wooden spoon, fold in the lemon zest, the flour, salt and baking powder.

Use a teaspoon to drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Leave at least an inch space between each cookie. Flatten each one with a small glass that has been dipped into white sugar mixed with a few drops of rosewater. Bake for 8-10 minutes until they are slightly brown around the edges. Let them cool a few minutes before taking them off of the hot pan and onto a cooling rack.

*These are delicious with a nice glass of fresh lemonade. At Christmas time I made these and added a drop or two of food colouring to give them a more festive look. Try making these for Valentine’s day too. They are sure to please your sweetie.

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.

~Emma Goldman

Picture courtesy of http://www.love-of-roses.com/index.html

It's Tea Time

2012-05-06T11:03:00.010-04:00

Tea is a universal drink. There are numerous types of tea grown all over the world and lots of web sites offering its history, varieties etc. A cup of tea can revive our spirits and can provide comfort when we feel down. In my family it was the usual beverage offered to any visitor. I can still see my Mother drinking her tea in her beloved sun porch.

When I worked in the UK there was a lot more fuss involved for a ‘cuppa’ than here in Canada. I remember dragging my poor husband to Windsor for a high tea * check out http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm . The people we stayed with were also very formal when it was tea time. It was nice. Now, when I visit my neighbour, who is in her late seventy’s, she boils water in the kettle, drops a tea bag into separate cups. We each determine the strength and fix it the way we like, either black, with milk or lemon and sugar if desired. Even fast food chains offer the option of a quick cup of brewed tea.

Until I was five years old, my parents owned a diner called ‘Joe’s Lunch’. For anyone who has been part of a restaurant family the commonality is that there are always people around. My aunt, grandmother, friends, worked hard to try and make the business a success. Even though I was young I remember a particular waitress who was elderly. Her name was Laura. She was a fortune teller. She was a skilled interpreter and predictor of things to come by means of reading tea leaves. We always served loose tea.

The person who had a question drank their tea leaving a teaspoonful of liquid. They were asked by Laura to swirl this around three times counter clockwise while thinking of an issue that needed a resolution. Then they were asked to invert the cup onto the saucer and leave it for a few moments. At that point the interpretation began. Laura would take the cup into both of her hands never touching the handle. It represented the person who had drunk the tea and had a question that needed answering. Leaves that were close to the brim related to events soon to approach. Those that were in the bottom of the cup meant bad luck was coming. Those tea leaves close to the handle concerned matters at home, scattered leaves meant financial prospects and so on. She made a few bucks from her readings.

Years later my husband and I were asked to travel with a Turkish Samovar and deliver it in the UK. In those days what was known as a ‘Magic Bus’ went from Athens, Greece to London, England in seventy two hours. Thinking back on it now at my age it was pretty crazy. If I had a few drinks in me, oh the stories I could tell. Anyway, we had never seen a Samovar before and I have not seen one since. The contraption seemed to come apart in several places and every time the drivers unpacked the trunk of the bus they threw it around dismantling it piece by piece. It was not packed properly. In those days there was no such thing as bubble wrap. By the time we got to London we were carrying the copper pieces one by one. Eventually we saw how they fit together to make a decent cup of tea. For more information have a look online for a more detailed description of its use.

Herbal teas are known as Tisanes and usually are used for medicinal purposes.

A fellow from the UK named Richard Blechynden discovered ice tea quite by accident. He was at the World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904 trying to sell cups of hot tea. Unfortunately it was during a heat wave. Suffering from extreme anxiety he added ice cubes. He started to sell cups of tea like hotcakes.

Because the weather is now warmer here are a couple of recipes using iced tea:

Russian Roulette

Put ice cubes into a tall glass.

Add a double shot of vodka

A shot of lime juice

Top it up with ice tea

Stir

Tea Fizz

1 pint of lemonade

1 cup of lime juice

1 pint of ice tea

Stir with ice

Both drinks are refreshing on a hot day. As some say, “Coffee is not my cup of tea.”

Tea is liquid wisdom. ~Anonymous

The picture of a Turkish Samovar is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samovar.

Catch of the Day

2012-04-21T12:47:00.000-04:00

It doesn’t matter where I have travelled in the world my heart always yearns for Port Dover, Lake Erie, Ontario. Having grown up in that area I have vivid memories going back to when I was four years old, of walking the pier with my Grandmother. When other kids ate ice-cream my preference was for a piece of smoked fish that we could buy, from the local fishermen who were mending their nets. The only fish we ate in those days was what we either caught fishing ourselves or what we bought including: pickerel, perch, small and large mouth bass, smelts and trout.

At one time, Port Dover’s fishing industry was the largest freshwater fishing fleet in the world. It’s smaller today. Thankfully its history has been preserved at the Port Dover Harbour Museum. Part of the collection is housed in an original fisherman's net shanty. Outside of the shanty you’ll find the 1932 fishtug Almidart, and a 1912 lake-freighter wheelhouse. Commercial fishing still goes on but at a much smaller scale. Check out the museum at http://www.portdovermuseum.ca/index.php .

Both my grandmother and mother utilized Lake Erie fish in many different ways. They used it in soup, fried, baked and pickled. Mom made sure there was enough fish in the freezer to last the winter.

I can remember when I was a newlywed. My Grandmother telephoned me to visit her as she was about to make some smelt. I hopped on my bike and peddled up to her house. She was in the kitchen and had just finished frying up a platter. We sat down and together ate the whole thing. It was delicious. Her recipe was quite simple. She would wash and dry the fish. Roll it in beaten egg, then in flour, and again in egg. Fry it in deep hot fat. Season with salt and pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Perch can be prepared in the same way. Mom always garnished the fish with fresh sprigs of dill from our garden. Served hot or as a leftover fried perch is a treat.

Mom’s Baked Bass Fillets

Soak fillets for 3 minutes in ¼ cup of milk plus 1 tsp. salt

Place the drained fillets into a well oiled oven proof pan; cover the fillets with fine bread crumbs and sprinkle with 2 tsp. of butter or margarine.

Bake in a hot oven 425-475F until cooked about 10-15 minutes.

Sadly, the fish in all of the Great Lakes are not as safe to eat as they once were. The levels of toxins and mercury and invasive species have an effect on the fish of today. I am very cautious to make sure that the fish I eat is from the wild and that it is processed in Canada. For a real eye opener regarding fish take the time to watch the following program http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20071025/WFIVE_chinafood_071027/ .

Having said this, it is still OK to go to Port Dover and enjoy the occasional perch or pickerel dinner. You could also try your hand at fishing off of the pier. You never know when that ‘big one’ might be waiting for your hook.

May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it.

~Irish Blessing

Many thanks to Ian Bell for the photographs. Ian is a long time friend and the Curator of the Port Dover Harbour Museum.

Spill the Beans!

2012-03-25T10:04:00.002-04:00

Last week, the first day of spring was uplifting. Reportedly, the hottest day ever recorded where I live in Canada. When I was growing up I looked forward to Spring. My dad used to dig up a small garden patch, one for my sister and one for myself. We took great pride in growing our own vegetables. The first seeds we would sow were beans. We grew three types at my house; green beans, Hungarian yellow wax beans, and pole beans. One of favourite childhood fairy tales was ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and I always hoped my beans were as magical as Jack’s. When Dad built a tripod around our purple martin bird house, I always thought those pole beans that grew up and filled the space could make it as high into the sky as Jack’s. Just as magical, they produced beautiful scarlet flowers and eventually beans.

All varieties of beans are planted in the same way with the eye facing downward in the soil, since the eye is where the root will emerge. Seeds should be planted once there is no risk of frost. Kids love gardening and watching a seed sprout and turn into a plant is exciting. Even if you are an apartment dweller your kids can grow beans. Here’s how you do it:

Place a piece of folded paper towel that you have moistened, around the inside of a clear drinking glass or a small jar. Arrange a few bean seeds half way up the inside of the glass so that they are positioned in between the moist paper towel and the glass. Add a small amount of water to the jar so that the paper towel stays wet. Keep it in a warm place. The seeds will sprout in about one day. Once that happens you can take them off of the paper towel and then plant them into a pot of soil. Be careful when doing this so that you do not break off the root. Place it where it will get sunlight. Water your plant every day. Watch your bean sprout grow into a beautiful green plant and hopefully provide some beans to eat.

If you don’t have a garden make sure you purchase fresh organic beans from your local market or grocer. Make sure that they are firm and not withered in appearance. When beans are young they are tender and require very little cooking time. At this stage they are also good raw, tossed into a salad. The following recipe is one of my favourites.

Grandma’s Yellow or Green String Bean Soup

4 c of chicken broth

1 lb fresh string beans cut into one inch pieces

2-3 potatoes peeled and cubed

2 small onions chopped

3 tblsp butter

3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 tsp paprika

3 tblsp flour

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the chicken broth in a large 3 1/2 quart saucepan. Add the beans and onions and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but still firm. Heat the butter in a 1 quart saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika and flour with a spatula. Slowly blend in the cold water to form a thick paste. Stir the paste into the hot soup and simmer, stirring constantly, until the soup has thickened slightly. Add the vinegar and the dill. Serve hot or cold.

Many people have been turning to beans as an alternative source of protein, as well as for their nutritional value. There are more than 4000 types of beans grown world wide. Many are used for cooking from a dry state. Navy beans are a popular dry bean. We usually associate them with Boston Baked Beans. The following is my twist on them, using them for a dip. This is a great recipe that is quick and easy, a nice change from hummus. Serve it with a tray of fresh veggies or pita.

White Bean Spread

1 medium garlic clove
6-7 large sage leaves (fresh)
1/4 cup dried tomatoes (or more, depending on your tastes)
1 can of drained navy beans * or cook your own if you like
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons water (more or less, depending on how thick or thin you prefer your spread)
salt & pepper to taste

*a drop or two of hot sauce (optional)
Blend it and chill before serving.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

~Proverb

Photo courtesy of my son Dylan.

Stay tuned for next week's blog about fish.

Breaking Bread

2012-03-11T09:41:00.008-04:00

I have never had much success when trying to make yeast bread. I did not inherit the genes I guess. My Mom was not a bread maker. Bread making was not her forte and it is definitely not mine.

Thankfully Canada is a country rich in multiculturalism. This diversity of people means that we are able to buy a whole host of different breads. When yeast is used to make it rise it is called ‘leavened’ when yeast is not used bread is referred to as ‘unleavened’. Then there are the sweet breads and those like pumpkin or gingerbread that fall into a ‘coffee cake’ category of their own.

From the First Nations People we inherited recipes for fry bread and bannock. Both can be prepared in a short period of time. Once the dough is mixed together and kneaded, it is then shaped into a flat circle and cooked in a heavy cast iron frying pan. The ‘Bannock Awareness’ recipe book is a collection of bannock recipes and little known facts about First Nations history and culture. Check out http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/rsi/fnb/fnb.htm for more great info.

Sourdough is the oldest and most original form of leavened bread. The Egyptians made sourdough bread as far back as 1500 BC. If you combine flour with water or milk and let it sit on your counter, wild yeasts in the air, will convert the natural sugars into lactic acid, giving the dough a sour taste. You can keep a sourdough cultured for eternity if is kept active by adding flour to a small portion of the raw dough. . I have currently, a sour dough starter in my fridge that my father-in-law Warner Troyer (January 1932 – September 1991) gave to me over twenty years ago. He might be gone but his sour dough lives on. I pull it out once a year, top it up, and use it for baking. German immigrants know it as ‘Saurteig’ and African- Canadians call it ‘Most’.

There are so many other types of breads available to us like:

Pita bread, well known from the Middle East, Mediterranean and Balkans cuisine, is popular yeast-leavened flat bread. It is baked in a very hot oven where steam causes two layers to separate during baking. The hollow centre that is formed makes a pocket that can be opened at one end to fill for a sandwich often with falafel. Pita bread is available at all grocery stores.

Naan, an Indian flat bread is sold at several large grocery stores and is most commonly used for dipping into sauces when eating an Indian meal.

From Mexico we have inherited the tortilla, thin unleavened flat bread made from finely ground corn.

Bing is Chinese flat bread similar to the tortilla. All of these are available in most grocery or specialty shops.

One of the best references about bread is ‘Beard on Bread’ by James Beard.

My family and I love the smell of home-made bread A few years ago I went to my local hardware store and it was there that I met the machine that was soon to become my best friend, a bread maker.

You don’t need to know anything about yeast, gluten, or any of the complicated things that have always made bread-making the territory of sophisticated bakers. With my breadmaker there’s almost no pre-mixing required. No matter which bread I make, I can measure the ingredients right from the boxes and bags. I just use a measuring cup to put them into the machine. It takes me five minutes. I turn it ON and walk away. It mixes, kneads, rises, and bakes any kind of bread in a matter of hours. It even signals me with a ‘peep’ when it’s finished. Clean up is a breeze as there are only 3 pieces to rinse. The bread maker is true technology at its best. The Canadian website ‘Bread World’ http://www.breadworld.com/ has recipes that are for conventional breads and for the bread maker.

Half a loaf is better than none.

English Proverb

Photo courtesy of my son Graham Troyer ‘Falafel in a Pita Bread’

Stay tuned for my next entry about beans...

The Savoury Sausage

2012-02-26T09:46:00.019-05:00

When I was growing up in rural Ontario, in late autumn, my parents would bring their hand cranked meat grinder up from the basement for sausage making. It was part of their Hungarian tradition. They used only fresh pork to make delicious hurka (rice and usually the meat from the pig’s head) combined with spices, sausages made with a lot of hot pepper seasoning, and kolbasa. Mom loved blood sausage but thankfully she bought that type. It was one of the few foods I couldn’t bring myself to eat although I have heard that it is delicious.

Sausages have a long history and are made and consumed world wide. There are approximately two hundred different varieties available in Canada and most of them are of German origin like the frankfurter. Some other types include; kielbasa from Poland, potato sausage from Sweden, the Italian salamis and bologna, Spanish chorizos, and Chinese duck liver. For the health conscious there are low fat turkey and chicken sausages, as well as vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.

Sausage making involves four main steps: mincing or grinding the meat, adding spices and flavourings, stuffing the casings, and storing.

Seasonings include pepper, cumin, savoury, parsley, fennel, sage, cloves, mace and caraway. I’ve also bought some sausage at Christmas where cranberries had been added to the grinder. My neighbour loves lamb sausages that she buys from the Mennonites at the St. Jacob’s Market. Their flavour is enhanced with rosemary.

My parents used organic casings. Our meat was cured and smoked at the local butchers. Then it was stored in either our refrigerator or freezer. My maternal grandparents used to hang some of it up in their garage. On a cold winter day there was nothing better than the smell of homemade sausages as they sizzled in a heavy cast iron frying pan.

If you are so inclined you might want to try making your own sausage. A lot of mixers have grinder attachments that make the job a lot easier than the hand cranked one my parents had. There is a lot of info online.

When I lived and worked in the UK I ate more sausage than at any other time in my life. From the common breakfast brand to the more gourmet versions made with beef and stilton and venison and red wine.

I worked for the Racal Milgo Telecommunications Company then located in Reading. I can truly say that working there was one of the best jobs I ever had. I made several friends at the office. One of the girls took the time to photocopy several traditional British recipes for me. They were from her grannies original copy of ‘Radiation New World Cookery Book’ first published in 1927 as a companion for the ‘Regulo New World Gas Cooker’. I still make some of those recipes today. The following was one of my kids’ favourites when they were small. I think that they liked the name.

Toad-In-The-Hole

4 oz. plain flour

Pinch of salt

1-2 eggs

½ pint of milk and water mixed

½ lb. sausages or more

1 oz. oil or pan drippings

Make a batter with the flour, salt, eggs, milk and water combo. Leave it in a cool place for 1 hour. Skin the sausages and shape them into small rolls on a floured board. Put the oil or the drippings into a small baking pan that has been preheated. Pour the batter into the pan and place the sausages in the batter so that they lie in one direction. Bake it for 35 minutes at 375F.

“Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see how they are made.”

Otto Von Bismarck (1815-1898)

*Photograph courtesy of my son Dylan Troyer . Portuguese sausages from M & M Fruit & Grocery, Toronto.

Stay tuned for my next blog about 'Bread'...

The Surreal Pancake

2012-02-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

I don’t think there has been a single year in my life when I have not celebrated ‘Pancake Tuesday’. It is usually held in either February or March. Historically known as Shrove Tuesday the tradition goes as far back as Elizabeth 1. Please refer to the following site for background information: http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html .

Pancakes are not just served in the winter months but they are enjoyed world wide anytime. They are considered a staple of culinary nostalgia.

The basic batter for pancakes includes flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, and baking soda. You mix up the batter and pour it onto a greased griddle or frying pan, let it brown on one side and then flip it to the other side. You might also see them referred to as flip-jacks, griddle cakes, hot cakes, wheat cakes, slap-jacks, hoe cakes and flap-jacks.

Bob Blumer, a well-known celebrity cookbook author, artist and host of Food Network's ‘The Surreal Gourmet’ and ‘Glutton for Punishment’, took pancake flipping to a whole other dimension. Blumer set a Guinness World Record on July 10, 2008 by flipping 559 pancakes in one hour at the Calgary Stampede.

I recently caught up with Blumer and asked him how he prepped for his marathon of flipping. “I deconstructed every component of the pancake-making process and tried to streamline each step. I started by playing with the fat/sugar ratio in the batter so that it would cook faster, but burn slower. Then I tested a variety of pouring methods (batter dispensers are not sanctioned by the Guinness organization), and fussed over grill temperatures. I also customized my spatula by grinding an inch off the end and bevelled the edges to a razor-sharp finish so that it would slide underneath the cakes with a minimum of resistance. I even tested different shoes to determine which style gave me better traction.” Wow that’s a lot of prep time if you ask me.

It was all worth it in the end. Blumer says, “I was left with a case of carpal flipping syndrome and a new-found appreciation for the humble pancake. And I can proudly say that my name is in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records”.

Bob Blumer graciously provided the following recipe that is included in his most recent book Glutton for Pleasure: Signature Recipes, Epic Stories, and Surreal Etiquette Whitecap Books, 2011.

Pecan Pancakes

½ cup pecan pieces

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1½ cups buttermilk or whole milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted + extra for cooking

¼ - ½ cup candied ginger, chopped finely

Zest of 1 orange

Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350°F

Method

Set pecan pieces on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes, or until well toasted. Let cool. Reserve.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In a second bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk and melted butter. Slowly whisk wet ingredients into dry bowl. Do not over mix. Add additional buttermilk or flour, if necessary, to get batter to the classic pancake consistency.

Let rest for 15 minutes so that the baking powder can work its magic and aerate the batter. Just before dropping pancakes, gently fold in ginger, pecans and zest.

Pour maple syrup in a small pot and warm it over low heat.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. When butter is sizzling, ladle batter to form pancakes. Once bubbles begin to form over the entire top of the pancakes and the bottom is golden brown, flip and continue cooking until second side is golden brown. Top with maple syrup.

Yield 4 – 6 servings

These pancakes are so delicious I am going to make them on Valentine’s Day for breakfast. Thanks Bob!

A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe. ~Thomas Keller

* Bob Blumer is an Ambassador for Second Harvest in Toronto. Second Harvest feeds those affected by the recession and many others who have fallen on hard times. http://www.secondharvest.ca/ .

A Winter Wonder ~ Bread Pudding

2012-01-22T12:40:00.000-05:00

When I was still in grade school I used to get off of the school bus at the junction of two rural roads. In the winter my friend Herby and I would trudge through the snow banks until it was time to part our different ways. There was nothing more inviting than to enter my warm country home and to be greeted with the delicious and inviting smell of my Mom’s bread pudding. Now that is what I call a real comfort food!

Bread pudding has a history reaching back as far as 1796. Frugal housewives used stale bread in order to not waste it. In recent years bread pudding has resurfaced and is found on the dessert menus of many fine restaurants.

When my kids were young I worked fulltime and due to my hectic schedule, baking was not a weekday event. However we always had proper sit down Sunday dinners and on many occasions I made a bread pudding for dessert.

The basic recipe consists of bread, eggs, and milk. There are many versions of the recipe and different ways to switch it up. Here is my basic recipe.

Mom’s Bread Pudding

2 eggs slightly beaten (use a fork or whisk)

2 ¼ cups of milk

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of salt

2 cups stale bread cut into cubes

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup of raisins

Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix it into the bread cubes. Add the brown sugar and raisins. Pour the mixture into either a loaf pan or a round ovenware cake dish. Place the pan into a shallow larger pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan so it is at least an inch deep. Bake the pudding at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean). Serve with some half and half or milk or your favourite sauce. This recipe serves 6.

A good home cook knows that there are many ways to change or alter recipes to one's own taste or when one ingredient isn’t available or there are specific dietary needs. The following are my ‘switch it up’ ideas that will create a totally different bread pudding from my basic recipe.

Bread

Use slices of bread buttered and cut crosswise instead of cubed.

Crumble the bread.

Grate it into small crumbs.

Try different types of bread: white, dark, French, Italian, Portuguese, stollen, raisin bread, gluten free and sourdough.

Alternatives to butter

Marmalade, currant jelly or apple butter.

Instead of raisins

Sliced apples, black berries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, cherries, peaches, rhubarb, currants or cranberries.

Milk

Soy, almond, cashew, evaporated, or try coconut.

Sauces

Caramel, rum, lemon, chocolate.

Spices

Pumpkin spice, allspice, mace.

I think that in these times especially, it is important for parents to create some special memories for their kids regarding food. Bread pudding is an inexpensive and delightful winter dessert. Try it and let me know how your recipe turns out!

Bread is like dresses, hats and shoes-in other words, essential!

~Emily Post

Enjoy a Winter Picnic

2012-01-08T06:36:00.001-05:00

I love living in Canada. I am especially blessed to live in a part of the country where we have four distinct seasons. We are now over the holidays and settling into the deep cold and longest part of winter. This is a great time of the year to get outside and have a winter picnic. When the sun is shining and the snow is glistening, what better occasion than to pack a lunch and go skiing, tobogganing, ice-skating or just for a walk in the woods. The fresh outdoor air will guarantee a hearty appetite.

Winter picnics require the same sort of planning as those held in the warmer seasons. In fact from a food perspective it is easier to prepare for a winter picnic in some ways. You don’t have to worry about food spoilage like on a hot summer’s day, the insects aren’t a problem, and for some reason it seems quieter outside and more peaceful.

Here are a few pointers to consider:

Find a spot to sit in the snow that is protected from the wind.

Plan the picnic so that you eat when the sun is high in the sky.

Food for a winter picnic needs to be rich and substantial to keep you warm.

Packing:

Use a back-pack with a rigid bottom of heavy canvas or leather with at least two compartments

A plastic groundsheet

A colourful tablecloth or blanket,

Napkins and serving things

Tin mugs

A Swiss army knife with a corkscrew

Secure plastic containers

A bread knife

A small wooden board for cutting and serving

A paring knife

Salt and pepper shakers

A can opener

Paper towel

Make sure that you wear a warm parka, mittens, and a sweater and have an extra pair of socks just in case the first pair gets wet.

Your picnic food can be as simple or as gourmet as you like. On one occasion when my husband and I were first married, we carried two thermoses; one held tomato soup the other hot chocolate. We packed peanut butter sandwiches and oranges. We were hiking through the snow along the local river bank, feeding the ducks along the way. Since we were in the City we found a picnic table to sit down to eat as we fuelled up to begin the long walk back.

Another time we walked along the Elora Gorge in the winter, awestruck by the frozen ice forms that cascaded down the sides of the path. On that day we were with friends. We built a fire. We sat around it and ate some hot home-made pea soup, rye bread, various cheeses, grapes, apples and some delectable tarts we picked up at one of Elora’ s cafes. We sipped on hot coffee with a shot of brandy for those wanted it and enjoyed the company of our friends. It was a memorable day!

Split Pea Soup My Style

1 lb. of split yellow peas

1 small ham shank or smoked pork butt or any smoked meat * omit if you are a vegetarian and use broth of choice

1 large onion chopped

4 med. carrots sliced

3 ribs of celery

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1 parsnip root diced

1 bay leaf

6 whole peppercorns

3 quarts of water

Wash and drain yellow peas and place in soup pot with 3 quarts of cold water.

Add ham or pork butt, along with vegetables and spices.
Bring water to a boil, turn down heat and slowly cook until all veggies and peas are soft.
Taste for seasoning. Cooking will take about an hour and a half. Puree in small batches.

Makes 6 servings

*Tip: Before you pour the soup or any hot beverage into your thermos make sure that you have warmed the container with boiling water.

A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together! ~Author Unknown

Christmas Baking...Hungarian Kifli

2011-12-01T12:05:00.004-05:00

When I was growing up, December was the month for baking. I was lucky to live on a hobby farm that was surrounded by immigrant farmers. Since my own folks were of Hungarian origin I was exposed to their culture and foods. My immediate neighbours were Ukrainian, Scottish, Russian, British and of German descent. Up the road were Polish, Dutch and Portuguese nationalities to mention a few. There was never any animosity towards one another as far as I could tell. Whatever their faith we all came together at Christmas.

I swear that when you opened our kitchen door you could smell my mother’s kifli, the neighbour’s shortbread, cherry filled perogies, strudel and stollen all mingled together, enticing one to visit another. Mom kept the kettle on low heat just in case anyone stopped by for tea. She always had a plate of homemade cookies and other delicacies she baked for the occasion. In fact when my Mom was alive I cannot remember a time she didn’t have the kettle on and a baked good on hand.

One of my favourite memories from my childhood was where I attended my first year of school. It was a one room schoolhouse called Cherry Valley on Cherry Valley Road. It was built in approximately 1911. There was a small stream that ran through a wooded area surrounding the school. There was lots of space for us to play at recess. We used sleds in those days, to go down the snow covered hills and skate on the stream.

Our teacher, Mr. Danly, who was only a kid himself a nineteen year old, hosted a family night at the school. I can remember how excited and nervous I was as we drove down the old gravel road that evening. Mom had sewed me a burgundy coloured velvet dress for the occasion. All of us grade one kids had to stand up and in turn each recite a letter from the word CHRISTMAS. I was the letter ‘M’ for myrrh. My parents proudly watched as I spoke. I can remember looking around at all of the smiling faces, the glow of the fire coming from the old pot bellied stove as it worked its hardest to produce heat. From the window panes a gentle snow was falling and you could see the flakes, they were that large. We ate cookies that everyone brought and drank hot coco. Each of us kids got a small bag of candy before we left. Those truly were the good old days in so many ways.

It is nice for every family or individual to celebrate traditions. It provides a sense of security to know that one thing is constant every year. In today’s society there doesn’t seem to be a lot of that. It is also good to shift things up a bit. This year I am going to read a lovely and heartfelt story to everyone titled, ‘A Christmas Story, a true story’ written by Jay Frankston. I ordered a hard copy of the book this past January. It is a wonderful story and one where we can all learn something about giving. You can order a hard copy of it through:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/542144.A_Christmas_Story_a_true_story or listen to it on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOJEvQMhnFk&feature=related

I recently delved through my vast cookbook collection and found the ‘kifli ‘recipe my Mother baked every Christmas season. There are many versions of the recipe but this is the one she used.

Mom’s Hungarian Kifli

For the dough:

3 c. flour

¾ c. sugar

¾ c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp. Salt

¾ c. lard

½ c. milk

Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out the dough and cut it into 2 inch squares. You can fill it with a walnut mixture and roll each square up corner to corner making a crescent shape. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Nut Filling

1 lb. ground walnuts

½ c. of sugar

½ c. milk

1tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Heat milk. Add sugar and walnuts; stir. Add butter and lemon juice. Cool before spreading on dough.

Try a kifli with a shot of Hungarian Apricot brandy. That will certainly put you into the holiday spirit! Enjoy.

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas when its mighty Founder was a child Himself. ~Charles Dickens

Orchestrating the meal…

2011-10-31T07:52:00.001-04:00

When I am preparing a meal for a holiday, I think of myself as the conductor of an orchestra. It must go back to my university days when I studied Music Theory. Music has many different fundamentals or elements. So does preparing a feast. Every culture and religion celebrates some sort of Holiday. Whether you prepare a turkey or any other meat or fish, for a main course, the timetable I use should work for you. I like to break the tasks down. I make sure that whenever I am prepping, that I gather all of the ingredients and tools I will need for that particular dish. I put them on a cookie sheet and as I use each item I will put it way i.e. spices, sugar, baking soda etc. Use your list from my previous blog or if you threw it out then sit down and write a new one.

So, let me walk you through this:

48 hours before the holiday dinner:

Based on a 10-12 pound frozen turkey you will need 48 hours for it to thaw. Refer to my previous blog to read all about safely handling the turkey.

Prepare your pies or any other dessert. It doesn’t matter if you choose to bake your own or buy ready made, saving time is the key issue. Baking two days before the meal will ensure that you do not need to use the oven on the day you roast the turkey.

Depending on my time I will cook the turnips since the large waxed ones we get in this area take a long time to cook.

I’ll also bake the squash. Make sure that you have enough storage containers to put the cooked veg into the fridge for storage.

If you make your own cranberry sauce, this can also be prepared in advance.

24 hours before …

Prepare the stuffing. I no longer stuff the bird I cook it separately and serve it in a casserole dish.

Wash your other vegetables and where suitable peel them and put them in water into the fridge if there is room.

If you are serving a green salad from scratch make it and seal it in a zip lock in the fridge.

Check on the turkey and if it isn’t thawing and is still quite frozen then you need to put it into cold water overnight. Once again check the directions from my previous blog about handling poultry.

Go over your list and see what else there is that you can do on the day before. This year I made biscuits and wrapped them in foil and warmed them on the day of the feast.

It is really important to keep an ongoing list so that you don’t go too crazy the day of and find out that that an ingredient is missing or that something you are making takes up too much oven time. Most of us are everyday people who do not have a celebrity kitchen so we probably only have one oven.

The day of…

4 hours before prepare and bake/cook/steam/puree your vegetables/casseroles and have them all ready to reheat right before the meal. This will take place once your turkey is finished and resting on your counter waiting to be carved.

3 hours before put the bird in the oven.

2 hours before serving make sure that all of your food is prepared and assembled and that if you have them in pots that serving bowls are on hand. Set your table or prepare your buffet if that is the route you are taking. Make sure that your serving utensils are also available and hot mats or pot holders are also in place.

1 hour before use a meat thermometer and check that the turkey is cooked and up to temp. If it is done then take it out of the oven and put it on a cutting board to rest. Cover it with foil to keep it warm. Turn your oven down to a low heat and reheat as many dishes that your racks can hold. Remember to turn your stove burners off and then you can also use the stovetop to warm some dishes if oven room is a problem.

½ hour before make your gravy, while it is bubbling away on low heat carve your bird and put it on a platter and cover it again in foil.

¼ hour before pull everything out of the oven and put it on the table. Make sure the food is covered until the last minute. Turn off your oven and pop in the turkey to keep it warm. Strain your gravy. Make sure everything is ready and on the table i.e. a cork screw if you are serving white wine. Keep in mind the dessert if it requires heating.

Let the music begin…

Pull the turkey out and put the meat and gravy on the table and then tell everyone that ‘dinner is served’. If you have paced yourself and have organized your holiday meal then you too will relax and enjoy your creation. Put on some festive music and celebrate!

Pre-heat the oven? Really? If I was the sort of person who planned ahead, I wouldn't be eating this Totino's Party Pizza in the first place. ~Adam Peterson

From http://www.quotegarden.com/

How to Organize a Holiday Dinner-Part 2 Planning!

2011-10-21T09:23:00.003-04:00

Planning

I usually plan the meal two weeks in advance. There are a couple of ways to organize the dinner. First you will need to decide how many people you are inviting. Over the years I have served from three people to twenty. The same scheduling has gone into each event regardless of the numbers. Once you determine who will be invited then you need to consider your finances. Some years I have not been able to afford the entire meal so I have held what I call a ‘cooperative cooking’ dinner. That means I will delagate different dishes to be made by my guests. I’ll get into that later. For the time being I will describe how I make the dinner by myself. If I can do it so can you.

Lists

I am a person who writes lists, so I take a piece of paper and write down what I will serve. I leave a gap under each heading so that there is room to go back and then note what recipe I will use, ingredients, how much to buy, and what utensils I will need to prepare the dish. Traditionally I have made turkey, ham, lamb, and roast of beef. There is usually stuffing, gravy, biscuits or rolls, potatoes, turnip, squash, cranberry sauce, green beans, salad, a pickle tray, two dessert options, coffee, tea, and wine or punch. If I have invited a vegetarian I will consider their needs and make a special dish for them. In the early years of my hosting I made everything from scratch but things have come a long way since then and if there is a short cut in preparation I take it. I do not hesitate to buy cubed turnip and squash, frozen pie crusts, gravy mixes, canned cranberry sauce etc. I tend to lean towards organics but the decision is yours regarding that.

The following is a brief example from my list based on serving ten people. I used a traditional roast turkey recipe.

Turkey

8-10 pounds

Seasonings

Gravy mix

Roasting pan

Basting brush

Aluminum foil large size

Meat thermometer

Cutting board

Knife for carving

The type of turkey you buy is up to you. I have used fresh, frozen, pre-stuffed, pre-cooked, organic, grain fed. The main consideration is food safety and handling. A great resource for turkey advice can be found at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/kitchen-cuisine/turkey-dinde-eng.php . I have also tried different methods of roasting. There are lots of recipe ideas online. Last Christmas I brined the bird and it was so tender and succulent I’ll do that again this year.

If this is your first attempt at preparing a meal for a group then keep it simple. I have learned many things through misjudgment and error and one of them was trying to figure things out on my own. Cookbooks and online recipes can provide a wealth of information but so can the butcher at your local shop or grocery store. Preparing a holiday meal is not the time to try a new recipe or casserole unless you are a seasoned cook. Fresh vegetables are flavourful on their own and taste just fine if prepared as simply as possible.

Grocery Shopping

Over the years I have learned a few tricks along the way in how to grocery shop for a large gathering. I buy everything at one major grocery store that I am the most familiar with. For me it saves time and added stress. However, my husband likes to go to our Farmers Market to buy local vegetables. If that is the case I make sure he has a list of what I need.

I write out a grocery list based on the aisles of the store. I have often asked the service desk for a floor plan in order to familiarize myself with where things are. It saves time and energy to decide in advance what I need and where to find it. Grocery stores at holiday time are a nightmare. Most stores have the following aisles: produce/ vegetables, produce/ fruit, baker’s oven, deli & seafood, a bulk section, meat counter fresh and frozen, various aisles that are product specific i.e. cereals etc. If you have a list and stick to it you will stay within your budget. I also use the list in the same manner if I buy my groceries online. Something else to keep in mind when shopping is how much space you have at home to put things away i.e. your freezer size, storage space in the fridge, cupboards etc. This plan works for me and I hope it works for you.

To be continued …