New Blog!

Hi Fellow Bloggers:

I have started a new catering/meal preparation business called The Local Fork and decided to switch the blog over as well just to make things less confusing.

So now you can check me out on:

http://thelocalfork.blogspot.com/

or email me at: thelocalfork@gmail.com

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend!

a

More things to do with zucchini...

So here's yet another recipe for those zucchini that you may have started stockpiling.

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 cup zucchini
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheart oven to 325.

Beat eggs until frothy. Add oil slowly and applesauce, mix to combine. Add sugar, zucchini and carrot. Set Aside.

In a seperate bowl, sift to combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add all the wet ingredients in three stages to the dry ingredients.

Pour mix into two greased loaf pans.

Bake for 55-60 min.

Corn Fritters

I think I can easily say that corn is something I look forward to from the very beginning of the growing season.

Seriously what is more fun than a corn roast? Nothing. Precisely.

But this recipe is one that I have to give full credit to Simon for. He loves them and makes them about three or four times while corn is in season and pretty much came up with the whole recipe himself with a few suggestions from me tucked in here and there (let's just say, giving up my kitchen is not one of my strengths).

So here's the recipe:

• 3 cobs corn
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 3 tbsp. cornmeal
• a little salt and pepper

Adjust the recipe to how many cobs of corn you have.

Throw everything into a bowl and mix it up.

Pan fry fritters in about a 1/2 inch vegetable oil until lightly browned on each side. About 2-3 min.

Serve with real maple syrup for dipping.

If you have these just once during corn season, you won't be disappointed!

Zucchini and Polenta Lasagna

So you can probably see a theme with my recipes these days. They all seem to have a good ol' zook in them. Zucchini's are in season right now and they're cheap so I am trying to develop as many recipe's with them as I can, plus I really really love them.

This recipe is low fat, for the dieters in the crowd, and relatively easy to make.

I start by making the polenta recipe that I posted back in July. With this polenta though, I omitted the cheese to be a little more cost effective. I also cut the recipe in half and had more than enough for 3-4 ppl.

While the polenta is cooling (at least 30 min) thinly slice a large zucchini and shred some cheese (about a cup).

Next in the bottom of a casserole pan pour 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom making sure to reach all corners. The add a layer of zucchini, followed by a sprinkling of cheese.

Now the polenta: Slice the cooled polenta into thin lasagna size strips and layer them on to the lasagna.

Follow this pattern until lasagna is complete.

Pasta Sauce - roughly 2-3 cups (depending how saucy you like it)
Zucchini - 1-2 thinly sliced
Mozzarella (1 cup)
Polenta

When done layering top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a hot oven (350) for 30. I like to broil the top for the last 5 min just so its nice and crunchy.

**Most important thing: Let lasagna set on your counter for 10-15 min. after it comes out of the oven. This will make all the difference when you cut and serve it.

It all started with a tomato...

So I went to the farmers market yesterday with my lovely friend Alicia (who was an impeccable bag holder as I excitedly scooped up goods like a madwomen) and as we browsed, we came across the most lovely heirloom tomatoes. Now if you've never had an heirloom tomato I order you to go out and get one immediately. The are, hands down, the best part of summer.

For starters, they're absolutely stunning. Bright greens, yellows, orange and of course red. They are also oddly shaped and usually have some little wonderful imperfection that for some reason makes them so desirable. The taste you ask? impossible to describe. Perfect, fresh, clean, overwhelming, amazing, delicious, splendid, warm, healthy, really good. Maybe not so hard to describe after all.

Once you go heirloom, I promise, you will have a very hard time buying grocery store tomatoes from Mexico.

So anyway, from that tomato came the inspiration for a really good summer supper.

PIZZA:

Dough
1/2 cup light cider or lukewarm water
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1-1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp honey
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the cider, water, yeast and honey. Let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes.
In a different bowl, mix the flour, salt and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add the yeast mixture and mix until a soft ball is obtained. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead a few minutes while flouring to avoid sticking.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a lukewarm area, away from drafts.
Using your hands divide the pizza dough into two equal parts.
Use the dough immediately or lightly oil before storing in a plastic bag. It can be refrigerated up to 12 hours or frozen.

Note: To activate yeast, the temperature of the cider and of all other liquids is important. The temperature must be between 41 and 46?C (105 and 115?F), which means that the cider must be heated a little. The liquids should not be too hot as this will kill the yeast and not too cold, as the dough will not rise.


Lightly oil a baking sheet with olive oil and a dusting of cornmeal. Roll out dough and drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle of cornmeal.


I topped my pizza first with mozzarella, then basil leaves, finely sliced tomatoes and then a yellow patty pan zucchini (thinly sliced). Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.


Bake in a hot oven (425) for about 15 min. Until crust bakes up nice and brown.

Blueberry Bliss

I just recently went blueberry picking with my sister and nephews and was blown away by how enjoyable the whole experience was! I highly recommend it if you have the time. These blueberries were cultivated so it was pretty easy pickins.
I picked three 4 quart baskets in about an hour and half.

When I got home I just laid them out on baking sheets and froze them overnight. The next day I bagged 'em up in zip lock freezer bags and stored them away for those bleak fruitless winter months.

By lying them out on the baking sheet you can guarantee that you won't get a block of blueberries rather individual berries perfect for muffins, pancakes, oatmeal and of course blueberry pie. I freeze most berry like things this way including peas, corn and strawberries. Believe me, the extra work in the beginning really pays off in the end.

Here is a tried and true recipe for those little blue gems:

Blueberry Bread

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups white sugar (you can also play around with 1/2 cup honey as opposed to just white sugar)
2 cups shredded zucchini (perfect and easy to find bc. its in season right now and also easy to save for the winter by simply shredding it, squeezing out access liquid, and freezing 2 cup portions in zip lock bags, I also do this for zucchini bread, lasagna and pasta)
3 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup whole wheat 2 cups white
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries or frozen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans or two bread pans or a muffin pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean (25 min for muffins). Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

My Love of Tea Biscuits

This is a recipe I came across a couple of years ago that I just love. It is so simple and quick that you can make the whole mess from start to finish in about 2o min.

You can also make a lot of additions to these which is nice because you can suit them to breakfast, lunch or dinner.

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

*1/2 cup blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, lemon/orange zest, cheddar, cooked bacon, herbs (rosemary, sage, chives, dill)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut butter in until mixture has a fine crumb texture. Stir in milk with a fork to make a soft dough. *If adding extras, add them now. Knead 8-10 times and then pull off clumbs about the size of a golf ball. Shape them slightly and then let them rest on the pan for about 5 min.

Bake for about 10-12 min. Serve warm with honey, jam, butter or just the way they are.

Summer Soup

Potato Broccoli:

10-12 new potatoes (small)
one head of broccoli plus the stem
Leeks/spring onion (bunch)
fresh garlic minced
mason jar of liquid ( 4 cups) chicken, veg, beef broth or just water1/2 cup milk/cream/yogurt/cream cheese
2-3 tsp salt (depending how salty you like it)
A fair amount of ground black pepper

Sautee onions/garlic/leeks for about 3-5 min on medium heat. Add potatoes, broccoli and broccoli stem (to use the stem I just cut off the skin and remove the discoloured or rougher parts, and the simply chop it into cubes). Move this all around making sure not to burn the garlic, cause burnt garlic tastes terrible. Add water and bring pot to a rolling bowl, then reduce the heat to about 3/ 4 and let everything cook.

Once potatoes are cooked, which shouldn't take longer then 15 min, remove from heat and blend mixture. I swear by my emulsion blender cause it was cheap ($15) and works amazingly well, but really any kind of blender will work. After this you can add any kind of dairy (if you want to) or you can keep it low fat and vegan friendly without. I really like adding yogurt cause I like the taste but if you have the means or your serving it as a small appetizer, cream cheese gives it a very rich filling taste.

Kohlrabi

Once a week I get a CSA share (Community Shared Agriculture) of local organic goodies and every week I get something just a little new and mysterious to me. So this week, I got a big purple kohlrabi!

I was so excited to cook it that I completely forgot to take a pic, so here is a link so you can take a look for yourself:

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5021114/kohlrabi-main_Full.jpg

It looks very similar to a beet but its skin is a bit rubbery.

After doing a little research (aka wikipedia), I found out that the kohlrabi is a german turnip and can be found in the cabbage, broccoli, kale and brussel sprout family. It has a pretty distinct taste and can be eaten both raw and cooked.

I decided to make kohlrabi burgers and I just baked the kohlrabi in the oven, but if you have access to a bbq, they would be much better grilled.

Ingredients:
1-2 kohlrabi (depending on size)
A good drizzling of olive oil (about 4 tbsp)
Salt and Pepper to taste

With a pairing knife, peel the skin off the kohlrabi then slice it into 1/2 inch discs. In a bowl add all the ingredients and mix them up, making sure each slice gets a good coating of olive oil.

The throw them on the grill for a about 3-5 min each side. If baking, place them in an oven at about 350 for about 15-20 min flipping once or twice.

Serve on a nice bun with some carmelized onions, mayo, cucumber relish, sprouts or just about whatever you have lying around.

Tasty, different and in season, what's better than that?

Mac and Cheese

So Simon really loves Kraft Dinner and I also have a slight weakness for it myself. But seeing as its full of salt, coloring, enriched white flour and the furtherest thing from cheese you can find, I was determined to come up with a cost effective alternative that was still easy and convienent.

Here it is:

• 1 1/2 whole wheat macaroni noodles (or whatever you have around)
• 1/2 cup cheese (cheddar)
• 1 cup milk or a little bit less if you're using cream
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• a little butter in a pan
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook your noodles. Put about a tsp. of butter in the bottom of a pan, let it melt then add your flour. Whisk well until you have a crumbly texture then slowly add milk or cream or a bit of both. Simon is a stickler for cream in his coffee so we also seem to have a little around. Then bring the mixture to a slight bubble, be careful not to scald the milk. Add cheese and nutmeg and stir to incorporate. Taste and season accordingly.

This is a seriously quick recipe. The longest part is waiting for the noodles to cook. You can also double the recipe and save leftover sauce in your fridge for lunches or quick dinners during the week.

If you're feeling adventurous you can always make this recipe, throw in some cooked chicken, peas and broccoli, top it with breadcrumbs and bake it in the oven for 30 min. at 350.

So Good.

A Meaty Post!

Sorry Vegetarians, this one is for the Meat Eaters in the room...


For some reason, I absolutely love making meat balls, it is honestly one of my favourite things to prepare.

Here is a recipe that I came up with:

• 1 lb.Ground Beef (grass fed is the best for you)
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed (I grind mine in Simon's coffee grinder)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Throw everything into a bowl and mix it up well. While doing this, heat about a 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a frying pan at a low temp...about 4 or 5. Form meatballs into similar size balls and put them in the pan when the oil is crackling just a bit.

The great thing about meatballs is that you know exactly when to turn them because the pan releases them and they come up in one whole piece. If you are flipping them and the crusty bit is still stuck to the pan, you are flipping them too soon. Be patient!

Also, with meatballs, I don't cook them all the way threw. I just brown the sides. They will finish cooking and warm all the way through when you add them to your tomato sauce.

enjoy!

Breaking Bread

Well after two failed attempts at bread making, I finally succeeded.

Turns out, with this recipe and most bread recipes, the flour you use is very very important....

Until you are a pro-breadmaker, or at least have made one of two loaves before, make sure to use 3 cups all purpose flour....

Also, a dutch oven is key! It makes the crust of the bread unbelievably soft but still crunchy!

Potato Salad with Homemade Mayo

I am so obviously my father's daughter.

My dad and I both love potatoes and even more, we both love new potatoes.

New potatoes signifiy summer to me. Their bright color, their amazing taste and the endless summer dishes that they work so well in. I also love that you eat them skin and all, no peeling here and I don't even mind the little dirt that gets forgotten and makes its way into your mouth...

Here's a Recipe for Potato Salad that I came up with:

Mayo: (Not that difficult, you can do it, well worth it)

2 egg yolks (the fresher the better)

1.5 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp whole grain mustard

1 cup vegetable oil

Salt and Pepper

Put eggs, lemon juice, mustards, salt and pepper and whip ingredients.

Continue whipping and slowly drizzle cup of oil in, slowly so that it incorporates nicely. (your laughing if you have a kitchenaid or any kind of mixer at this point, saves your arm a lot of work but it still totally do-able without one.)

Mayo will last nicely for three to four days in a fridge.

1. New Potatoes (depends how many ppl. you're cooking for)
2. shelling peas (shelled of course, I like them raw but you can cook 'em if you want)
3. mayo (add how much you desire)
4. chives (handful chopped up fine)
5. *avacado (not local, but I make an exception cause I love them! Optional, add if you desire)
6. salt and pepper

Cook potatoes, drain, cool. In a bowl put the peas, mayo, chives, avacado, salt and pepper and then add the cooled potatoes on top. Mix. Taste and season accordingly.

Creamy Polenta!

I love this recipe cause its cheap and relatively easy. As per the season, you can adjust it to suit pretty much anyone. Tonight I am going to serve it with some organic lettuce and some olive oil and vinegar.

Recipe: (I usually half the recipe and get enough for about 4 portions)
8 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups polenta (not quick-cooking) or yellow cornmeal (10 ounces)

1/2 cup cheese (if you have some on hand)

1 cooking onion

Garlic scapes (a handful chopped up fine)

Preparation
Lightly sautee onion and garlic scapes until onions are translucent in color. Add water. Bring to a boil with salt in a 4-quart heavy pot, then add polenta in a thin stream, whisking. Cook over moderate heat, whisking, 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer polenta, covered, stirring for 1 minute after every 10 minutes of cooking, 45 minutes total. Remove from heat, add cheese and serve warm.

I am using garlic scapes because garlic isnt in season here yet, soon, but not yet. So these scapes, which are the shoots of the garlic plant, are an amazing substitute until its digging time.
Also, as for the cheese, I try to find cheese that doesnt have modified milk ingredients. MMI are milk ingredients from all over the world that have been reconstituted here in canada. Check it out for yourself:

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/product_of_canada_eh/

If your not in the position to buy organic local cheese just yet (im in the same boat), here are some brands without MMI's:

Trestella

Cracker Barrell (I think)

Presidents Choice Organics (a little cheaper)

Good Recipes, Good Read

I just finished this book, and being a fan of Barbara Kingsolver's already, I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. It's a really good read! Totally captivating and inspiring, mind you I don't have the land or money to live the way she does but I still felt compelled to work a little harder at sourcing locally and challenging myself with more difficult recipes.

If you get a chance to read it, I recommend it. She makes a lot of interesting connections as well as delves into the complexity of the modern food machine, which I really dug. But she also incorporates her own families struggles and triumphs of eating local and whole and growing on their own. I especially enjoyed the chapter on her daughter Lily's chicken buisness.

Just when you think the world of food is doomed, you read something really encouraging like this.

"why is it always those who have the least are those who give the most..." this is when Kingsolver is talking about a group of organic farmers who were growing tomatoes specifically for a grocery store and last minute they decided to buy from international growers at o.18 cents a pound...instead of the farmers letting all the tomatoes rot, they took a loss and supplied foodbanks with fresh, local organic tomatoes..

I have a copy if anyone would like to read it!

Top 12 Fruits and Vegetables that contain the highest amount of pesticide residue:

1. Peaches
2. Sweet Bell Peppers
3. Nectarines
4. Cherries
5. Grapes
6. Spinach
7. Apples
8. Celery
9. Strawberries
10. Lettuce
11. Pears
12. Potatoes

If you can find these local and organic, it might just be worthwhile to pick 'em up!

Making Bread!

Today will be my first attempt at making bread! I have long wanted to do this and seeing as I've got nothing but time right now, I decided today would be the day!

My flour came from Merryland Organics in Peterborough Ontario.
The bread recipe I am using is the very famous Sullivan Street No Knead Bread Recipe:

Here it is:
3 cups (430g) flour
1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water
¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast
1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt
olive oil (for coating)
extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)

Two medium mixing bowls6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional)Plastic wrapTwo or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth)

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F). Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size. Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.