Back from winter, ready for spring

Oh vey, it's been a long time. I don't seem to have much inspiration in the winter. It's not that I haven't been cooking, but it's been a transitional time of gluten-full to gluten-free. It also seems that the less busy I am with other projects, the less inclined I am to write about cooking. Stupid? Yes.

Well, it's gardening time, and I couldn't be more excited. I built - well, assembled is more like it- a grow light. (Although I totally built the shelf underneath, with some power tool help from my bf). The garlic I planted last fall is peeking out, and it's warm enough to dig around! I created a makeshift cold frame to start some greens... more on that experiment later.

I went out and bought a heating pad for my peppers. Please germinate! Here's looking forward to a dry and hot summer, unlike the last one. Maybe my pepper plants will actually produce fruit this year.

And yet again, I have way too many veggies to fit in my yard.

Making Apple Cider

Apples, apples, apples. It's a good thing there's so many ways to prepare them, because they're going to be a staple for the next few months. In the past few weeks I've made apple/cherry applesauce, baked apples, apple and walnut stuffing, apple and cheddar grilled cheese, squash and apple soup... the list is endless. I bought a peck of Spy apples two weekends ago, and they're disappearing fast from their basket in my closet (I know, weird, but it's cool and dark, perfect for storing apples). It seemed like a large amount at the time, but in retrospect, I could have gone for the bushel.
Last weekend I went to Hart House Farm. It was a delightful chance to get out of the city, and included stealing apples from an orchard (just one!), getting lost on the bruce trail, sitting in the autumn sun next to quarry ponds, and helping make apple cider!

Mulled Apple Cider

4 cups apple cider

2 0r 3 thin slices of orange

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Over high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove orange slices and cinnamon sticks and serve!

Baked Apples

6 apples

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup melted butter

1/2 cup trail mix (I used a mix with pecans, raisins and sunflower seeds)

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

about 1 cup of apple cider

Hollow out apples - the easiest way I can figure is to cut a cone shape down into the top of the apple, then use a melon baller to take out the rest of the core. Just be sure not to go right through the apple; leave a thin layer at the bottom. Then, use a paring knife to score a circle in the skin around the centre of the apple. This will prevent the apple from bursting through it's skin.

Combine butter and sugar. Add trail mix, cinnamon and salt. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Put apples in a baking pan. Pour over apple cider, until there is about a 1/2 inch of liquid in the pan. Bake for 40 minutes. If you let the apples cool somewhat, the liquid leftover in the bottom of the pan will thicken, making a delicious sauce. I served the apples with plain yogurt. You could be decadent and have them with vanilla ice cream.

Spinach, Roman Style

Last Thursday, I picked up some interesting looking spinach at the East Lynn Farmer's Market. It was shaped like large arugula leaves with deep red stems, reminding me of beet greens. I tried to find out what it's called - and found an interesting plant called Malabar spinach, which isn't really a spinach at all. I'm going to look into growing it next year. It's a hot weather plant that forms long vines, and tastes like a mild spinach.

Anyway, that wasn't the plant I bought.

The spinach I bought might be Bordeaux spinach. It's a F1 hybrid, bred specifically for those green mixes. Presumably the idea with to add some colour to the plastic boxes of gas-treated salad mixes? Anyway, it was delicious in a fritatta with roasted red peppers and goat cheese, and it was even tastier as the spotlight in this dish. I've fallen in love with pine nuts, and started adding them to everything I eat.


Roman Style Spinach
(adapted from a New York Times article from the 80's. The original had raisins in it, which sounded... different? I'll be brave and add them in next time I make this.)

1 small bunch of spinach (about 5 or 6 cups), washed, dried and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 cup of pine nuts

Heat olive oil on med-high heat in a saute pan. Add garlic and pine nuts, cook, stirring often, until browned, about 1-2 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 or 4 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I enjoyed this with polenta and leftover mushroom gravy from thanksgiving.

Soups for rainy weather

Leek and Potato Soup (with special appearances by corn and red pepper)

There's chunky, broth based soup, and then there's ultra -smooth, pureed soup your grandma would love. Sometimes I feel like something in the middle! Removing and pureeing just a bit of the soup can make it extra creamy without adding cups of milk or cream. My lactose intolerant boyfriend also appreciates this.

(this soup disappeared to fast to be photographed. Here's an ingredient instead.)

A note on leeks: they can by sneaky vegetables, hiding dirt and sand in between their leaves. I cut off almost all of the green part (and feed it to my compost worms), then slice the leek lengthwise in half. Then I rinse it, making sure to check between the layers.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large or 3 small leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly

4 fist sized potatoes, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, finely diced

salt and pepper

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup milk or cream (leave out for a dairy-free soup, just add 1 more cup of broth)

2 cups of fresh corn (about 2 cobs)

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Cook leeks for 5 minutes, then add potatoes and pepper and saute for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth, and simmer soup for 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Remove 1 cup of soup and puree with an immersion blender (or other blending device). Return pureed soup to pot, add milk (if using) and corn. Simmer (but don't boil!) for another 5 minutes, until corn is cooked to your liking.

I enjoyed this soup with grilled cheese: some gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread with spy apples and aged cheddar. Mmmm. Finished leftovers the next day with my new favorite crackers - Mary's something or other, made out of rice and quinoa. 

Curried Pumpkin and Apple

Here's a creamy vegan soup I invented for one of my New England Pie pumpkins. 

1 pie pumpkin, halved with seeds removed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 apples, diced (no need to peel, the skin will break down)

salt and pepper

2 tbsp curry powder

4-5 cups of vegetable stock 

1 can coconut milk

Preheat oven to 375. Rub pumpkin flesh with 1 tbsp olive oil and place face down on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Then scoop the flesh into a bowl. 

Heat other tbsp of olive oil in a large pot. Sautee onion and apples for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add curry powder, salt and pepper and saute for 1 more minute. Then, add cooked pumpkin and stock, and simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, puree soup until smooth, then add coconut milk and heat through. The end! 

gardening update

Almost time to clean things up for the winter - ripping up plants, throwing around compost, pulling up bamboo rods and stacking pots. By some divine miracle, the tomato plants are still thriving. Here's some harvest from last weekend: 2 New England Pie pumpkins, some potatoes (actually, the only two potatoes my plant produced), and three tomato varieties: Juliet, Green Zebra and Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes.

For the first time this year, I'm saving seeds! It's about time, I'm kicking myself for not saving some Montreal Tasty tomato seeds from last year. There are numerous containers of fermenting seeds on my kitchen table. I should probably let my roommates know what they are before someone throws them out. Here's what I'll have for next year - planting and trading:

Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes

Juliet Tomatoes

New England Pie Pumpkin

Butternut Squash

Marketmore Cucumbers

And - look! I grew fruit! Somehow more exciting than carrots and beets, this year I grew gooseberries and 'Hearts of Gold' melon (below).

Also, I just realized I like blackberries. Usually, I'm lured towards the raspberries and blueberries and give the blackberries a pass, but last week I read a recipe for blackberry sauce in the book Gluten-free Girl (also an awesome blog), and picked some up at St. Lawrence. I only used 1/2 pint for the sauce, and was forced to eat the other half. How have I lasted this long without realizing how delicious they are?

Blackberry Sauce

adapted from Gluten-free Girl

I used this sauce for my once-monthly fish extravaganza - it's delicious on a pan-fried salmon fillet. I used up the rest in some plain yogurt, and I imagine it would be amazing on ice cream, too.

1/2 pint blackberries

1/4 cup water

1 lemon, juice and zest

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Just simmer everything together for 10 minutes. Shauna's recipe suggests straining the sauce, but I like the crunchy seeds, so I left it as is.

return from the land of very good and very bad food.

It's been a while since I wrote. A very, very long time. It's not without trying - I can count on the fingers and toes of all the people I live with (which is a lot) the number of times I've made something and thought to myself "I have to write down this recipe and post it!" As far as food is concerned, this has been a summer of extreme highs and lows. I feasted on strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus here in Toronto; I ate loaves and loaves of bread with pasta and vodka sauce in New York City; I devoured a whole watermelon to myself beside the Hudson River; I singlehandedly cooked a local dinner for a party of 30 at my graduation; I made cupcakes that looked like penguins. Those were good. The bad? My favorite two weeks of the year at Trafalgar Castle: camp! Let's just say, the food has never been great. This year the cafeteria provider Armark sunk to new lows. Note the piece of art we made out of stale fortune cookies and a sweet and sour sauce that had the consistency of Jello and the colour of, well, Jell0.

too cute to eat.

food art!

sprawling children's vegetable garden in New York City Botanical Gardens, the Bronx

Addiction to farmer's markets intensifies when the berries begin to appear.

first real food at camp: a giant tray of sushi.

more cupcakes: nests for the penguins!

my boyfriend's not so healthy choice. he regretted ordering a large coke.

But now the weather's getting colder, and I'm back at my computer. Also, no more gluten excuses. From now on, all my recipes will be without gluten: wheat flour, rye, oats, barely soy sauce, etc, etc. It's time to start writing down recipes again. So here we go:

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I'm not going to lie, I actually got sick of eating tomatoes. I know I'm going to hate myself when January comes, but it's true. My Juliet, Wild Cherry and Green Zebra plants were so prolific that the tomato bowl on my counter was never empty, July to September. This week I gave up and threw them all in the oven for later in the winter.

tomatoes

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300. If using cherry, juliet or plum tomatoes, cut them in half. Anything larger and you'll want to cut them in wedges or slices. Lay out the tomatoes on parchment lined cookie sheets. Drizzle with a very small amount of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 or 4 hours at 300, the turn the oven down to 200 and cook for a few more. Just keep checking them - you'll know they're done when they're completely dried and shriveled up! Watch out if you're cooking different types and sizes of tomatoes at once, they will be done at different times.

Duche de Leche

Here's a simple, easy thing I was first introduced to, strangely, by my diabetic friend. It couldn't be easier if it tried. If you've never had it, it's kind of like caramel sauce, but thicker and more delicious. Try it in crepes, with apple slices, or on top of ice cream. I even used some as a filling in some gluten-free brownies.

1 can of sweetened, condensed milk

Bring a large, deep pot of water to boil. Add can of milk, unopened. Boil for 3 hours. That's it! Just be sure to keep adding water, making sure the can is always covered. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge. I've read that it keeps for a month, but it would never make it that far in my house. I've also read that this method is dangerous, but no cans have ever exploded in my kitchen, and I know a bunch of people who make it this way with no problems.

Local eating, figs for spring

         I'm a local eater in a big way. Two weeks ago I bought my first strawberries since last summer, and truly, absense does make the heart grow fonder. And the fruits of waiting are very sweet.

            Once in awhile, I just have to eat something from far away. I've spent the last few years sorting out my own personal food choices - and food choices are just that -incredible personal (and political). There's a few things I'm not willing to give up, for example, bananas and chocolate. But for foods like these, it's possible to be fair and environmental. Fair trade, organic bananas are available at quite a few places in Toronto. It's a step up from organic, where farmers are free from harmful pesticides, but are still only paid around a dollar per box. Fair trade means the farmers are getting fair market prices: around 8 dollars a box. The difference to us? Actually the same price as organic bananas, around $1.29 a pound. That's where the personal choice comes in. Am I in a position to spend 40 cents more than commercial bananas to ensure what I'm eating is not harming farmers, and that those farmers are getting enough money to reasonably make a living? Chocolate? Same deal. Cocoa Camino is my favorite organic fair trade brand, but there's a bunch out there.

           So here's something I eat a few times a year. Figs have a unique taste. And, along with bananas, they were one of the first plants to be cutivated for human consumption, around 11,000 years ago. Here's a fig salad, surrounded by some local ingredients.

Strawberry Fig Salad
makes 2 servings

8 figs, sliced crosswise across the top (see picture)
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup goat cheese

1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces
2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
salt and pepper

         Combine strawberries and figs in a bowl. Crumble goat cheese and walnuts over top. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad.

          This is what I ate with the salad. I had all the fixings for an awesome pizza, but I have yet to tackle gluten-free pizza dough. Instead, I made a big giant rosti (recipe here) and then broiled it for a few minutes, covered in sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, kamalata olives and raw milk feta. It was delicious.

gardening in the rain

My garden's been slow to get going this year - cold May weather, too much work, too much graduating and partying. Yesterday I finally had a whole day to weed, plant, mulch and tidy. At least a hour of that was spent wading through the lamb's quarters that were engulfing my snow peas and beets. 

The squirrels and cats have been (mostly) foiled by large amounts of chicken wire covering every possible surface. Something small is still getting in, but it definitely isn't my 15 pound cats. They aren't that agile.

Foraging in the recycling bin has become a habit - containers for seed starting, toilet paper rolls for protecting tomato seedlings, water and pop bottles for make-shift cloches. 

Also, I've discovered the joys of gardening in the rain. No bugs, no sun, nice temperature, and soil so easy to work with! Nice spring surprise- (below) I'm overjoyed to see that my cosmos and cilantro both re-seeded themselves!

Visiting farmer's markets over the past month, I've been tempted by a few tasty-sounding tomato plants. Along with the five Matt's Wild Cherry I grew from seed, there's a Green Zebra, two Purple Cherokees, four Candy Cherries, two Golden Cherries, and a giant Plum - with tomatoes growing already! I'm also growing peppers for the first time - Marconi Long Red and Purple Beauty.   

Rhubarb four ways

I have a confession: I have never bought, cooked, grown or eaten rhubarb (I'm not counting bad, store-bought strawberry rhubarb pie). But I'm trying something new. Inspired by all these posts about rhubarb (at Seasonal Ontario Food and Tea and Cookies), I spent the week cooking these four recipes:

Rhubarb Compote

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 lb rhubarb (about 10 to 12 thin, long stalks)

1 tbsp butter (or coconut oil)

Cut rhubarb into small cubes. Toss with sugar. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low. Add rhubarb. Let cook for 2 minutes without stirring, then cook for 10-12 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Possible experiments: today I stuck with plain old white sugar, but I'm going to try going all local with honey or maple syrup next time... not sure how the maple would taste with the rhubarb, but it can't be bad! I'm sure the rhubarb would overpower. I'm also going to try a vegan version using coconut oil instead of butter. And finally, I'm going to try using less sweetener. This one was delicious, but I would love it to taste even more tart.

Enjoyed on: vanilla ice cream, custard, yogurt, pancakes, potato rosti, toast and on spoon, straight from the jar.

Variation - Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
 

Exactly the same as above, just add some halved strawberries after the rhubarb has cooked for 5 minutes. You might want to add less sugar - the strawberries get mighty sweet when cooked. This compote is a lot runnier than the straight rhubarb - great for waffles, pancakes or ice cream!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

*Note - This is a new crumble recipe for me - it's gluten free! I'm a big fan of crumbles with oats in the topping, but the almonds in this recipe make an awesome, crunchy crisp. This makes a rather tart crumble (according to my mom and boyfriend- I thought it was just right). Increase the sugar if you want a sweeter taste. Serve with delicious real, local, organic whipped cream!

1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 blanched almond flour (usually in the fridge in health food stores - like the big carrot)
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cold butter (coconut oil or vegan margarine for a vegan version)
dash of salt
2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
4 cups rhubarb, diced
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice

Spread sliced almonds on a baking sheet (I used whole almonds and chopped them roughly). Toast in oven at 350 for 8 minutes. Throw almonds, almond flour, brown sugar and salt in food processor and grind into a fine meal. Transfer to a bowl, and cut in cold butter, making a chunky, cornmeal-like mixture. Set aside. Leave oven on at 350 for later.

Combine strawberries and rhubarb in a bowl. Toss with sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle lemon juice over fruit.

Grease a 9 by 9 in. baking dish. Spread fruit in bottom, then sprinkle crumble topping evenly over fruit. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until fruit is thoroughly cooked and topping is browned.

Rhubarb Applesauce

*Note- use 2 or 3 types of apples if you can. This makes any applesauce taste better. Also, if you're using organic apples, leave them unpeeled (if you don't mind a few bits of skin - and if you're using some sort of red apple, it will turn the sauce a pretty red colour).

5 or 6 apples, cored and chopped
5 or 6 stalks of rhubarb, diced
2-3 tbsp maple syrup

Combine apples and rhubarb in a pot with a few splashed of water. Cook on medium/low heat, stirring and smushing occasionally, until everything is soft and mushy to your liking (anywhere from 20-40 minutes). Stir in maple syrup to taste.

Along with the rhubarb, here's my finds from the market this week: cabbage, cornbread, bok choy, a cucumber. apples and delicious kalamata olives. Mmmmm. 

In 4 months, this vine will be bursting with New England Pie pumpkins... I'm already thinking of the delicious things I'm going to bake.  

Cheap & easy dinner, plentiful & bountiful asparagus

Potato Rosti with grilled asparagus

*this makes delicious dinner for 2. For one person, just make a smaller rosti, cutting amounts in half.

3 large potatoes

1 onion, peeled

salt and pepper

3 or 4 tbsp olive oil

1 lb asparagus

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grate potatoes (leave skin on) and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet (one that can go in the oven - no plastic handles!). Make sure pan is coated well with oil to avoid rosti mishaps. Pile grated potato and onion mixture in skillet, pressing down and forming a huge, pan-sized potato pancake. Cook on medium heat for 7 or 8 minutes. Run spatula under edges to loosen, then place a large plate face down on the rosti. Flip the entire thing onto the plate, then slide the rosti back onto the pan (now cooking the uncooked side). Put the skillet in the oven for another 7 or 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, perhaps while the first side of the rosti cooks, break off the tough ends of the asparagus. Toss on a baking pan with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. When you put the rosti in the oven, throw in the asparagus. They'll be done the same time as the rosti! (8 minutes). Roll them around once for even cooking.

Meanwhile, while asparagus and rosti are in the oven, fry two eggs.

Serve each rosti piled with asparagus, topped with an egg (maybe with a side of homemade applesause for the rosti).

Cheap, cheap dinner. The whole thing costs between 2 and 4 dollars, depending on whether you're using organic ingredients. Use butter instead of olive oil and you have yourself a 100 mile dinner, possible much much closer, especially if you're lucky enough to have an asparagus bed in your backyard. No excuses for that woody, tasteless asparagus from Peru right now - everywhere has Ontario asparagus, from No Frills to Dufferin Grove to St. Lawrence Market.