What We'll Be Drinking This NYE!

In mid-November we hosted a wine tasting in our home for a group of our friends, where we were introduced to this sparkling wine that is made in the traditional method (in other words it isn't just carbonated like many cheaper brands, but rather the carbonation is produced through patience and a time honoured tradition of fermentation), by David Calados of "Global Wine Tour". We were all amazed at this sparkling wine because it ranks with any expensive bottle of champagne, but is only $23/bottle...and best of all it is made in Niagara-On-The-Lake by Chateau des Charmes.

We ordered a case of 6 and intend to toast the arrival of 2010 with a few bottles! If you're interested in trying something new and fairly local, check this one out online. It's a VQA but you wont' find it in the LCBO ~ go to the website http://www.chateaudescharmes.com/... you won't be disappointed!

*BTW, for anyone that doesn't realize, only wines from the region of France, north of Paris may be labelled "Champagne"...since it is a premium brand name that is vigorously defended, all others MUST call themselves sparkling wine!*

Pickled Coleslaw

Yet another favourite at our party and something that I tried in the summer when I received cabbage and carrots in my CSA basket! This recipe comes from Jennifer MacKenzie's book "The Complete Book of Pickling" (AKA my canning bible!!!) Even though it is a two-day process, it really isn't taxing and well worth the effort! I got 3L jars and 1 500mL jar out of this recipe.

Pickled Coleslaw

Ingredients:

DAY 1:

4 lbs green cabbage (approx. 1 head)

4 cups shredded carrots (approx. 8)

1/4 cup pickling or canning salt

DAY 2:

3 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp celery seeds

2 tbsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

5 cups cider vinegar

TO SERVE (per 500 mL of coleslaw):

1/4 cup sunflower oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

DAY 1:

• Cut cabbage lengthwise into 4 to 6 wedges. Cut out core. Cut each wedge crosswise into very thin slices. You should have about 22 cups.
• In a large non-reactive bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and salt. Place a plate on top to weigh down vegetables. Cover and let stand at a cool room temperature for at least 12 hours or for up to 24 hrs.

DAY 2:

• Prepare canner, jars and lids
• In a colander working in batches, drain vegetables and rinse well. Drain again, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Spread out on towel-lined baking sheets to drain any remaining water.
• In a pot combine sugar, celery seeds, mustard seeds, pepper and vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until sugar is dissolved. Boil for 1 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep liquid hot.
• Working with one jar at a time, pack vegetables into hot jars, leaving room for liquid and 1" headspace. Pour in hot pickling liquid, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary. Wipe rim and place hot lid disc on jar. Screw band down until fingertip-tight.
• Place jars in canner and return to a boil. Process 500mL jars for 15 mins and 1L jars for 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid and let jars stand in water for 5 minutes. Transfer jars to a towel-lined surface and let stand for 24 hours. Check lids and refrigerate any jars that are not sealed.
• When serving, open jar and drain coleslaw in a sieve. Transfer to serving dish. In a small bowl combine the sunflower oil and Dijon mustard and toss with coleslaw just prior to serving.

Meatballs with Pepper Sauce

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of this dish (I promise to take one the next time I make these!), but so many people requested this recipe be posted I decided to do it immediately so as not to upset my friends!!!

Meatballs with Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 envelope of onion soup mix

2 lbs ground beef

SAUCE:

1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms

1 -1 /2 cups ketchup

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

1/2 cup chopped sweet red or yellow peppers

2 tbsp chopped red onions

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• In a large bowl, combine the milk, Worcestershire sauce and soup mix. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1" balls.
• Place meatballs on a rack in a shallow baking pan and broil 4-6" from the heat for 5 to 8 minutes (or until meatballs are browned).
• In a large pot or slow cooker on high, combine sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat; add meatballs and stir gently.
• Simmer for 1 hr or until meat is no longer pink.

Zesty Citrus & Chicken Salad

This is an extremely refreshing salad that I concocted when I found myself craving fruit and veggies for lunch today! I had some marinated feta that I made for our party on Saturday, leftover roasted chicken and a red grapefruit. These combined with baby spinach, cilantro, and a lime dressing was delicious!!!

Spinach Salad with Marinated Feta, Chicken, Graperfuit & Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

(Dressing)

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp sunflower oil or extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

(Salad)

1 cup baby spinach

1/2 breast of roasted chicken, slivered

6 cubes of marinated feta*

1 segmented red grapefruit

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

• Whisk all salad ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Place spinach in a salad bowl, top with the slivered chicken, feta cubes and red grapefruit segments, and sprinkle the cilantro over top.
• Drizzle the dressing over top and ENJOY!!!

* Marinated Feta:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp oil-packed sundried tomatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp minced fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 lb cubed feta cheese

Place all ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and gently toss. Place the bag in the fridge for at least 1/2 hr. Take out of the fridge at least an hour prior to serving to allow the flavours to fully develop.

Broccoli, Potato & Caramelized Onion Soup

As I was on a roll yesterday with making my leek & potato soup, I decided to use up the broccoli that has been residing in my fridge for a week! Luckily I had chopped and frozen potatoes from my CSA share into 2, 4 and 8 cup portions so it was easy to pull this soup together! This recipe comes from my favourite vegetarian cookbook: "The New Vegetarian Epicure", by Anna Thomas.

BROCCOLI, POTATO & CARAMELIZED ONION SOUP

Ingredients:

1 3/4 lbs broccoli (approx 6 cups of chopped broccoli)

3 onions, roughly diced

salt, to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

2 1 /2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 large potatoes (approx. 1 lb), peeled & diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

3 cups water

4 cups homemade vegetable stock

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1 /2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups 2% milk

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Generous pinch of cayenne pepper

• Heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet, over medium heat. Add the onions and saute with a sprinkle of salt, until golden.
• Combine the potatoes and celery in a large soup pot with the water and stock and approx. 1/2 tsp salt if needed (if it's a homemade stock you might want to as homemade stocks are never seasoned).
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for approx. 10 minutes. Add the chopped broccoli and sauteed onions and simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
• Stir in the lemon juice and puree the soup either in batches in the blender, or using an immersion blender in the soup pot. Don't overprocess as the texture should be somewhat rough.
• Melt the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp butter in a skillet and stir in the flour. Cook this roux for a few minutes, stirring constantly, till golden. Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring or whisking till it thickens. Whisk in the mustard and the cayenne and add the white sauce to the soup.
• Bring the soup back to a simmer, taste and correct the seasonings with more salt and pepper, mustard or cayenne.
• You can garnish the bowl with small florettes of steamed broccoli, or a swirl of sour cream!
• ENJOY!!!

Leek & Potato Soup

With the cooler weather rapidly approaching, my mind always turns to soups (my favourite!!!) I love to make big batches of a variety of vegetable soups and then freeze them so I will always have them on hand. Cheap and cheerful...much like the person creating them ;-)

LEEK & POTATO SOUP

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 leeks, washed thoroughly and chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 cups 1" cubed potatoes

3 3/4 cups homemade stock (I use chicken)

salt and ground black pepper

• Heat 2 tbsp of the butter in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook gently, for approximately 7 minutes, until they are softened.
• Add the potatoes to the pot and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add the stock and bring it to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 30-35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. Chop up and stir in the remaining butter.
• Serve hot with fresh crusty bread - YUM!!!

Yummiest Mac & Cheese!

Today after my riding lesson I really felt like something filling and homemade...basically comfort food! So I decided to make my macaroni and cheese! This is not only super-easy, but kid-friendly too (I made it just the other night for Hayden, India and Devon!) There is no baking required unless you like to have the cheese form a crispy coating on the top like in the photo (then just pop it in a 350F oven for 15 mins!)

RANCH STYLE MACARONI & CHEESE

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 envelopes of ranch salad dressing mix

1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion salt

1 cup cubed cheddar cheese

1 cup cubed mozzarella or Monterey Jack (for zip!)

1 cup sour cream

16 oz elbow macaroni, cooked until al dente

1/2 cup crushed Premium Plus crackers or panko bread crumbs

Grated cheddar and Parmesan Reggiano

• In a large pot combine the first 8 ingredients (milk to mozzarella) over medium heat until cheese is melted and mixture begins to thicken.
• Fold in the sour cream. Add the macaroni and crackers. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently to prevent it sticking.
• Top with a light dusting of grated cheddar and Parmesan Reggiano cheese and either serve or put into a 350F oven until cheese has melted and is golden brown.
• ENJOY!

The End of the Summer CSA Program

Well it has finally reached the end of the growing season - all the leaves have dropped, there is a chill in the air and all the fields have been ploughed and garlic for next year has been planted at "Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze".

It was a tough growing season with all the rain and lack of sunlight. It really made me appreciate what is involved with farming and what it must have been like before the advent of industrial farms with acres of greenhouses, and monocultures to ensure there is baby spinach available all year round. Mostly though, it made me proud to be involved with a farm that is bucking what is now considered convention, and farming in a natural and seasonal manner.

If we stop and think about it, we really shouldn't be able to obtain baby spinach all year round. It should be something special and anticipated in the early springtime, along with asparagus and tender salad greens. At this time of year, we should be enjoying the wide variety of squashes, root vegetables and cabbages & Brussels sprouts. Sadly, it seems we have become hooked on eating whatever we want, whenever we want at the expense of our health and the environment. The heat required by the expansive greenhouses to ensure the baby spinach is provided with an optimal growing temperature, not to mention the chemicals that are required to ensure that these baby greens survive packaging, shipping and storing, should far outweigh our need for them...but it doesn't usually. Out of sight, out of mind is something many of us (myself included) are often guilty of. It's not until we have an Ecoli breakout caused through contaminated water in a foreign country that we stop to consider that the baby spinach we are eating on our salad plate is produced in countries where there aren't strict regulations and growing practices, and where our demand is causing many of these to be overlooked all in the name of economy. Sadly our desire for items (not only foodstuffs) have caused the standards in many countries to slip. Faster, in greater quantities and cheaper, are what drive the economy, and we tend to forget the human and environmental factor linked to our desires.

Recently we were sent a survey from my CSA farm asking some questions regarding the past CSA season. Talking with Steve & Lisa Cooper I discovered that people were complaining that they didn't receive lettuces past the first month or so of the program! These same people complained that they were receiving potatoes (of which this year was one of the best harvest years for potatoes that Steve could remember and was really excited about), cabbage, Swiss chard, and Brussels sprouts in the later boxes. I find this astonishing and telling of the lack of education of the general populus regarding natural growing seasons, nutritious food preparation and the produce available at different times of the year, and it made me a little sad. These same people said they enjoyed the fact that they received a wide variety of vegetables in their boxes and that they appreciate that Steve & Lisa use natural and sustainable farming methods, and use no or low spray...yet these people really, when it boils down to it, just want to receive cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and salad greens.

Perhaps instead of focussing on educating adults about nutrition and eating seasonally and locally, more emphasis should be placed on educating the young. We have become to disassociated with the land that adults are unable to pass on this valuable information to children. It's not enough to demonstrate healthy eating, it should go deeper to demonstrate responsible eating.

Get out to your local farm and rediscover what it means to truly eat locally and seasonally. Adjust your eating habits to include produce that you've never heard of before - oftentimes it is more nutritionally sound than your regular fare, and will awaken your tastebuds! If we are able to spend time online researching the latest ipod accessories, or which car we are going to buy, then we surely have time to search for methods of preparing Jerusalem artichokes, tomatillos or Swiss chard, right??

Braised Red Cabbage

Admittedly I didn't grow up eating cabbage and have only started enjoying it for about the past 5 years ~ and I've discovered that I LOVE it! Savoy is my favourite and I use it in a pasta dish quite frequently, and I love green cabbage for salad etc., but when I received a red cabbage in my CSA box I was a little flummoxed! I hadn't really used one outside of grating it into a coleslaw. So I turned to my trusty reference site http://www.recipezaar.com/ and found this simple and easy recipe that requires 5 ingredients (6 if you decide to top it with crumbled goat's cheese like I did!) and tastes fantastic! It's sweet and tart while the goat's cheese juxtaposes the slight crunch of the cabbage, perfectly!

BRAISED RED CABBAGE

Ingredients:

1 head chopped red cabbage

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 tbsp butter

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

• Heat the white wine vinegar, water, butter and the sugar together in an ovenproof casserole dish (I used my enamelled cast iron baking dish whose lid can handle the high heat in an oven), until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the cabbage and stir till it's coated with the vinegar mixture.
• Cover and braise in an oven at 325F for 2 hours, stirring every half an hour or so to ensure even cooking.
• Remove from oven, transfer to a serving and dish and crumble creamy goat's cheese over top (optional).
• ENJOY!

Maple Tree Cake

Another one of my 'experiments' that turned out really well! I decided to make this cake for Saturday's dinner with Dave, Siobhan and the kids - it was relatively easy except for the fact that my cake pans were too large so I ran out of icing and had to press Skor pieces around the edge! A perfect fall cake as it has the woody and sweet flavour of maple syrup as well as dried fruits on top!

MAPLE TREE CAKE

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups sour cream

2 tsp maple flavouring

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

Dash of salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

FROSTING:

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter chips (could just as easily use butterscotch)

2 tbsp dried cranberries

2 tbsp golden raisins

2 tbsp chopped dried apricots

2 tbsp chopped dried apples

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add sour cream and maple flavouring. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to sour cream mixture and mix well. Fold in pecans.
• Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" round baking pans. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the centre comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, in a bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Add syrup and mix well. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate and peanut butter chips; stir until smooth. Transfer to a pastry or a heavy-duty reusable plastic bag; cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe a tree and branches on top of cake. Combine dried fruits and sprinkle around tree base and at ends of branches to resemble fall leaves.
• Serve & ENJOY!