Category: Uncategorized

Get Rich Quick!

Apparently we are in for a wet weekend. So we wanted a quick breakfast that would let us get out on the trail before the rain arrives. Eggs Benedict may not seem like the obvious choice, but this quick Prosciutto Benny with Blender Hollandaise is just the ticket!

For two:

3 large eggs
2 slices prosciutto
1 multigrain English muffin, split
1/4c / 60ml butter
1t /5ml lemon juice
1/2t / 2ml dry mustard
Dash Tabasco
White vinegar
Lemon pepper
1 large tomato, sliced

Split the muffin and toast or warm for a few seconds in the microwave.

Bring a medium pot of water to boil.

Meanwhile separate one egg and put the yolk in the blender with the Tabasco, lemon juice, and dry mustard.

Put the prosciutto in a nonstick pan on low, just to warm it a little.

Heat the butter in the microwave just until boiling. Turn blender on and pour the butter in slowly – it will cook the egg yolk.

To assemble, stack muffin, prosciutto, poached egg. Drizzle with hollandaise and sprinkle with lemon pepper.

Serve with tomato, and go!

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Generations of Goodness

One of the things I am most proud of is that both of our kids have turned out to love food, and making things, and building a happy home. (Young parents, the big payoff is out there!) For us, there is a definite connection between food and family – which is why it is every kind of wonderful to start the day with a whole-wheat English muffin and cream cheese, topped with our daughter’s homemade apple butter.

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Packaged Goods

What’s a heritage recipe? All in a name, perhaps. When my daughter and I were making these pies, we were discussing the recipes…

“Do you remember your pumpkin pie recipe by heart, Mom?”

“No need…it’s on the back of the label of the E.D. Smith pumpkin”. Other foods that have solidly established themselves in the family repertoire are pie crust (Crisco), and the special squares we make at Christmas (Eagle Brand Condensed milk). For a family that cooks and eats healthy and local, we seem to be more than happy to rely on distinctly non-local influences for the holidays. Many of these were established as packaged foods were just taking off…and some when any food was rationed and out fore-mothers learned to work with what they could get.

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The last anecdote we shared was probably the best. Daughter and boyfriend were making their first Christmas cookies – shortbread. Each insisted their Mom had the best recipe, and set out to investigate. After their phone calls each sheepishly shared the source of the treasured family recipe – the back of the Canada Cornstarch package. Both moms were using the same “best recipe”.

What does this teach us? That the foods we love have been taken over by huge food conglomerates? That we can’t make recipes up by ourselves any more? None of the above. What it tells us is that love and holidays, for many of us, are bound up in the foods we eat. And sharing them with family is beyond compare. So thanks for the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Cranberry sauce, apple pie, Roxanne’s stuffing and potatoes, Dan’s chocolate cake, Beth and Eric’s salad, Portuguese chicken from Dad and Kath, and more…so good we’ll do another version with Mike and Aline later today. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Out to Pasture

It’s coming! Spring has nearly sprung. Today we were at the Halifax Seaport Market and picked up a delicious steak from Pasture Hill Farm. That, with a few blue fingerlings and a salad seemed like it would be a heavenly choice. We were just tallying up our purchases and we spotted them: local grape tomatoes from Den Haan’s. I wish there was a recipe here, but this is it: grill steak, boil potato, make salad, dream of sprong

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Pour on the Sweetness

These tasty squares have been adapted from a number of recipes, sometimes called Southern Bars. Or you may have seen them on cans of condensed milk.

One year, our kids dubbed them “Cavity Squares“, because they are so incredibly sweet. We know they have too many calories (we could also call them calorie squares). But they never fail to please, and someone always asks for the recipe. Your teeth may not thank you, but you’ll definitely keep your dentist in business!

Fabulous Tummy-Warming Oatmeal

20111109-110823.jpg. Oatmeal used to be a real challenge to make; hence the instant kind. But in just 10 minutes, you can make this amazing breakfast using real, large-flake rolled oats. No additives or preservatives. This serves two people a good-sized bowl.

Dice an apple into a microwave-safe casserole. Add 3/4 cup (180 ml) rolled oats, 2 T (30 ml) chopped walnuts and a good sprinkling of cinnamon. Then the water – about 1-1/4 c (300 ml). No need to stir yet. Our microwave has an oatmeal setting, but otherwise, about 5 minutes on high, followed by 3 minutes on medium power should do it. when it’s thick and bubbly, give it a stir. Serve with a little brown sugar and some milk. It’ll get your day of to a good, warm start.

No Knead to Fear – It's Batter Bread!

One complaint (dare I say excuse) we often hear about not making homemade bread is that it’s so much work. We disagree of course, since we love breadmaking and it doesn’t feel like work as it can fit in around dinner-making, book-reading, or blog-writing.

However, in an attempt to tempt the non-bread-bakers out there, I decided to try some batter bread this week. Confession: I have never made this kind of bread before. Also, I must admit that I adapted the original recipe before even trying it, as I had some buckwheat flour we wanted to use up. You can find our version here.

It's World Food Day. Do You Know Where Your Food Came From?

We love being lucky enough to walk out in our neighbourhood to buy food. Sometimes it’s from small shops where we know the proprietors and they know the source of the food they’re selling. Other times, we’re lucky enough to get it direct from the farmers. Even luckier, is that we’re never truly hungry.

Today groups around the world are celebrating World Food Day. We’ll be giving thanks for the food we have, and doing our part to support our local food bank. We hope you will, too.

Soup Season has Arrived

The cold weather is here. Soup season has definitely arrived. After church today we wanted something to warm us up before heading out to rake the leaves (again) that the blustery day has loosed on our yard.

We had some leftover chicken broth, pureed pumpkin, and bacon (yes, leftover bacon). Along with some potatoes, beets, a shallot, and some chili powder, we had the makings of a warm, delicious soup.