Seasonal Ontario Food

The first of the strawberries have been picked! They seem a little early to me, but in spite of some persistent cool weather there have also been some hot days where things have leapt forwards. It's exciting to see them but a little daunting to think about all the picking in my future, when the weeding is so far behind. 

Really, though, this recipe is about the sponge cake fingers, aka lady's fingers. They are designed to be okay on my "better carb" diet, and incidentally they can be gluten free as well. I may fiddle with the recipe in the future; they were not more exciting than lady's fingers usually are which is to say a bit dry and bland. Mostly useful for soaking in sherry and syrup and covering with custard, fruit and whipped cream. Actually, they would also be nice dunked in tea or sherry to moisten them. 

They also came out flatter than ideal, but they plainly need no more in the way of starch, and the texture was still light and fluffy enough. I may try baking them as a thin cake then cutting them afterwards. I took the leftovers and re-baked them in the oven at 200°F for 40ish minutes, and that made them quite dry and crisp. I suspect just baked as directed they have a shelf-life of a few days but re-baked crisp that they would keep for some time. 

While I would describe the sponge cake fingers as surprisingly quick and easy to make, this whole thing is really best suited to a special occasion - Canada Day coming up in the near future, although strawberry season is a special occasion in itself as far as I'm concerned.

 

6 servings

45 minutes - 30 minutes prep time to make the sponge fingers

15 minutes prep time to make the custard 

15 minutes prep time to assemble the trifle

 

 

 

 

1/4 cup arrowroot starch

1/4 cup potato starch

2 tablespoons coconut flour

Sift these together into a small bowl.  

Line a large baking tray with parchment and preheat the oven to 350°F.

 

In Bowl #2:

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons sugar OR sweetener OR combo 

Beat with an electric mixer until the egg whites will form stiff peaks.

 

In Bowl #3:

3 large egg yolks

the finely grated zest of 1/2 small lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar OR sweetener OR combo 

Measure all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Beat with the electric mixer for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened and become a much lighter yellow in colour. It is not necessary to wash the beaters after beating the egg whites.

Fold half the dry ingredients gently into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in half the beaten egg whites. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and egg whites. Gently spoon the mixture out onto the parchment, in fingers with a bit of room to spread. You should get 12 of them at about 1/4 cup batter per finger.

Bake them at 350°F for 10 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for a further 10 minutes. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to a rack to finish cooling. These can and should be made a day or 2 in advance.

 

Make the Custard:

2 tablespoons arrowroot starch

4 tablespoons sugar OR sweetener OR combo

a pinch of salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whole milk OR light cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Mix the arrowroot, sugar/sweetener, and salt in the top of a double boiler. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. 

Turn the heat on under the double boiler and bring it slowly up to a simmer. As it heats, whisk in the milk or cream a little at a time until it is all in. Continue whisking the mixture regularly as it heats, then more frequently as it begins to thicken. Towards the end you must whisk it constantly until it thickens. Remove it from the double boiler at once, then whisk in the butter and vanilla. Let it cool, whisking occasionally to prevent it from forming a skin on top. 

This should be done enough in advance to be cool, and can be done up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated if you wish. 

 

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries

1 tablespoon sugar OR sweetener OR combo

1 cup organic whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar OR sweetener OR combo

a little sherry OR rum, optional

Set aside a nice selection of the best-looking berries for garnishes; about 1/2 cup of them. Wash and trim the remainder, and mash them with a tablespoon of sugar or sweetener.

Beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer with the remaining tablespoon of sugar or sweetener, until stiff. 

 

Put a puddle of the mashed strawberries in the bottom of each individual serving dish. Break a sponge finger into 2 or 3 pieces and set them in it, on their sides. Spoon a little custard around them on every side then spoon more mashed strawberries over them. A little sherry or rum can be drizzled in at some point during the assembly. Or, this could of course be done in one large serving dish. Something in clear glass so you can see the layers is traditional.

Finish each trifle with a dollop of the whipped cream and a few washed, stemmed strawberries for garnish.

 

These were so yummy! We had no trouble (do we ever?) eating them all ourselves, with rice and peas on the side. If you were serving other Indian dishes with them, though, they would go further. Also they would go further if you are not the complete piggies that we are. You could cut the recipe in half but I suspect you could easily keep half in the fridge for cooking the next day. 

I liked the touch of red pepper, but it's not particularly traditional. Next time I might broil the peppers a bit before threading them on the skewers; they stayed pretty crisp even when the chicken was cooked.

 

2 to 4 servings

20 minutes to prepare chicken and marinade

2 to 24 hours to marinate

15 minutes to cook

 

 

4 to 6 cloves (1 head) garlic

2" piece of ginger

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 to 1 teaspoon hot red chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

2 tablespoons very thick yogurt

the juice of 1/2 large lemon

   OR 1 large lime

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

2 or 3 (600 grams; 1.5 pounds) skinless, boneless chicken breasts 

1/2 large red or orange bell pepper OPTIONAL

Peel and slice the garlic, and put it in the bowl of blender with the ginger, also peeled and sliced. Add the spices and salt. 

Wash and dry the cilantro and mint. Trim the stems off the cilantro, chop it coarsely, and add it. The mint leaves should be picked off the stems and the stems discarded, except for the tender tips. Add the yogurt and purée the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Scrape as much of it out as you can into the container in which you are going to marinate the chicken. 

Add the lemon juice to the blender and process to wash down the sides. Pour it into the rest of the marinade and add the oil. Mix well. 

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add them to the marinade and turn them to coat them in it. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight. 

If using bamboo skewers, soak them for at least 30 minutes first; several hours is better so I try to remember to start soaking them as the chicken begins to marinate. Thread the chicken on the skewers, keeping as much marinade on them as possible. If you like, put bite-sized pieces of red or orange bell pepper in between each piece of chicken. Lay them on a broiler pan and spoon half the remaining marinade evenly over them.

 

Broil for 5 to 6 minutes per side (2 sides) until cooked through. When you turn them over, spoon the remaining marinade over them before broiling again. Serve at once with rice or naan, and the vegetable dishes of your choice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Pizza Crackers. 

It's still greenhouse cukes, of course. We're only just planting ours today. Mint, parsley and cilantro are all up and useable by now, however. I didn't use any cilantro here, but you could. Other optional additions: a few chives and/or radishes now, melon or watermelon later in the season.

 

4 servings

20 minutes prep time

 

 

the juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

a pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

 

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl or jam jar. 

2 or 3 small greenhouse cucumbers

100 grams (4 ounces) feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 or 3 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

 

Wash, trim, and chop the cucumbers. Crumble the feta and mix it into them. Wash, dry, and chop the mint and parsley.  

Toss the salad with the dressing. This can be done up to an hour ahead to allow the flavours to blend, then sprinkle the salad with pumpkin seeds just before serving it. 

Last year at this time I made Potage Argenteil - Asparagus Soup.

There are a lot of versions of this simple but substantial German salad; here's mine. You can eat it as-is, but I think it is most often eaten piled on a good sturdy slice of rye bread as it's almost as close to being a sandwich filling as it is to being a salad. I'd be happy to put it in a wrap with a leaf or 2 of lettuce and call it lunch, certainly. But one of my favourite things in the summer if I can round up a few eaters, is to have a salad buffet with a variety of salads, and this would make an excellent candidate for that. Also nice with a bowl of soup on the side.

 

4 servings

15 minutes prep time

 

1/2 teaspoon honey 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dill pickle brine OR apple cider vinegar

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix the honey and mustard in a small jam jar or bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise, then the brine or vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that other ingredients in this salad are salted - it's better to under-salt, and have to pass salt at the table than to overdo it here.

 

1 1/3 cups slivered radishes

2/3 cups slivered Gruyere, Emmentaler, Gouda or similar cheese

1 slice dill pickle

2 tablespoons minced chives OR green onion

3 tablespoons minced parsley

 

Wash, trim, and sliver the radishes. Cut the cheese into similar sized and shaped pieces. Dice the dill pickle fairly finely, and wash, dry, and mince the herbs. 

 

Mix everything together and toss with the dressing. Serve with buttered rye bread.

Last year at this time I made Baked Trout with Creamy Leek & Dill Sauce.

I found this simple little soup in an old Canadian cook book. Most of them contain recipes which now fall somewhere between thoroughly obsolete and utterly boring, so it's always a bit of an exciting moment when I find something that looks serviceable. However, a little while later I found the same recipe in a just slightly older cook book called French Household Cooking, put out by Country Life in 1908. Tsk, tsk.

 

The first recipe was much simplified in transition, and it changed again in my hands. I thought it needed some goosing up in the way of seasonings and some acid to sharpen it. The original made use of late summer produce, and I'm sure it's delicious fresh from the garden, but it makes a quick, easy and tasty winter soup with frozen beans and canned tomatoes.

 

4 to 8 servings

30 minutes prep time NOT including cooking the beans

 

3/4 cup of white beans, cooked

     (about 2 cups cooked white beans)

2 cups bean cooking water OR chicken stock

2 cups diced potatoes

2 cups diced canned tomatoes

2 cups diced frozen green beans

1 medium onion

3 or 4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons bacon fat OR butter

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed basil

2 tablespoons vinegar OR lemon juice 

The beans need to be cooked in advance; or you can use a tin. Save the bean cooking water for the soup, unless you are using chicken stock. 

Scrub and trim  the potatoes, and peel them if necessary. Cut them into large dice and put them in a heavy-bottomed soup pot with 2 cups bean cooking water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until tender. Mash coarsely right in the broth. 

Add the white beans, the tomatoes, and the green beans chopped into short lengths. Set the soup to simmer. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion finely. Peel and mince the garlic. 

Heat the fat or butter in a skillet and cook the onion over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes until softened and reduced in volume. Add the garlic and basil, and cook for another minute or so. Add these to the soup, and deglaze the pan with a little of the broth, adding it back in when you are done.

Season the soup with salt and pepper as needed, and add the vinegar or lemon juice. Let it simmer for a few minutes until the raw scent of the vinegar (if that's what you used) is gone. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Lentil, Buckwheat & Walnut Loaf. 

When I made Gomel-Style Cutlets a while back I threatened to coat other foods to be pan-fried in grated potato, and now I've finally done it. This is a bit like fish and chips, chips included with the fish. A little cole slaw or other salad should finish the meal nicely.

This is a very simple way to cook fish, but I'd say there are two points to watch carefully for success. The first is to be sure your fish fillets are as dry as you can reasonably get them, or the potato crust won't stick well. The second is that while they are being cooked, do not press them down into the oil. I did that, and it packed the potato together too firmly - I believe it would have been a little more crispy if I had managed to refrain. Still, we all enjoyed these and I will try to improve my technique by making it again.

 

2 servings

30 to 40 minutes prep time

 

675 grams (1.5 pounds) white fish fillets

1/3 cup barley or wheat flour

freshly ground black pepper OR other seasonings to taste

2 large eggs

450 grams (1 pound; 3 medium-large) white potatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

mild vegetable oil to fry 

If you start with frozen fish, it must be thawed. In any case, unwrap the fish fillets and lay them on a good pad of paper or kitchen towels; if kitchen towels preferably clean, but not your good ones. Let them blot and dry thoroughly while you prepare the other ingredients. 

Put the flour on a plate and mix in any seasonings you wish to use. I kept it simple with just some pepper, but a little paprika and thyme would be a good choice. Whisk the eggs on another plate. Wash, peel, and grate the potatoes. Mix them with the salt and let them sit for a few minutes, then squeeze them well to remove and discard as much liquid from them as possible. Put them on another plate. 

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Pour in about 1/4" of oil. While it heats, coat each fish fillet in flour on both sides, then in egg on both sides, and then in the potatoes, ensuring an even coating of potato all over. Lay them in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until golden-brown. If they do not all fit in the pan (unlikely unless you are using a fairly large griddle) put them on a platter in the oven, kept warm at 200°F until they are all done. Add a little more oil to the pan as required in cooking them. Serve as quickly as possible.

Last year at this time I made Apple-Peanut Cole-Slaw with Coconut-Curry Dressing.

A super, super simple and tasty vegetable side dish, if a bit late for me to be posting it. I've still got a big bowl of peppers in various degrees of ripeness sitting on the kitchen counter, but the peppers are definitely winding down, and local fennel is just plain hard to find at any season, although hopefully there is still some around from not too far afield. 

 

This goes with any kind of animal protein, but I think it is particularly nice with beef, and if the beef is in the form of steak, so much the better. For a vegetarian take, and I can see it going really well with something like macaroni and cheese.

 

2 to 4 servings

20 minutes prep time

1 medium bulb fennel

1 medium onion

1 medium red pepper

1 tablespoon mild vegetable OR olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

a few flakes of crushed red chile, if desired 

the juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons finely chopped fennel fronds

Wash and trim the fennel, putting aside a few of the finest, brightest green fronds for the garnish, but discarding the tough base and stems. Slice the remaining bulb into slivers. Peel and sliver the onion similarly. Wash, core and deseed, and cut the pepper into thin slices, then cut them in roughly the same length as the fennel and onion pieces. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onion and pepper pieces, and sauté them for a few minutes until the soften and begin to wilt. Season with the salt, pepper, and chile if desired. Add the fennel and continue cooking and stirring the vegetables for a few minutes more until they are all done to your liking. Add the lemon juice just a minute or so before you remove the vegetables from the stove, and mix it in well.

Turn them out at once into a serving dish and sprinkle them with the finely chopped fresh green fronds - this adds a great deal to the flavour of the vegetables, so be sure to chop them finely for easy mixing in, and sprinkle them broadly so everyone gets some of them. Serve at once. 

Last year at this time I made Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds, & Parmesan.

I love cauliflower, but it can be awfully pale and flabby looking. Just a little spice makes it look so much more appetizing and adds a lovely flavour.  (And nothing calls out for a little parsley over the top like cauliflower.) 

Four cups is an awful lot of cauliflower to have "left over", but it could absolutely be cooked in advance by a day or so, and re-cooked in the spices for about 5 minutes longer than called for in the recipe. In either case, it won't do the cauliflower any harm to get a bit browned in spots, in fact it's an improvement.

 

4 servings

20 minutes prep time

4 cups (1/2 a large) cauliflower florets

2 tablespoons sunflower OR olive oil

1/4 cup chicken OR vegetable broth

1/8 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads

1/16 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1/16 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

Wash, trim, and cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Put a pot of water on to boil for them, and boil them for 5 minutes then drain well. 

 

Meanwhile, mix all the remaining ingredients except the parsley in a small bowl, rubbing the saffron between your fingers as you put it in. Give it a stir until well combined. 

 

When the cauliflower is draining, heat the mixture in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the drained cauliflower and cook for another 5 minutes or a bit longer, until the liquid is absorbed or evaporated and the cauliflower begins to brown slightly. Sprinkle it with the chopped parsley and serve at once.  

Last year at this time I made Costillas Guisadas con Patatas - Spanish Stewed Pork Ribs with Potatoes.

This was a simple and tasty soup. I will note that I put the fronds on as a garnish, but I think they actually added a lot to the flavour - so don't do as I did and leave them in big chunks, but chop them finely and sprinkle them over the soup generously.

 

4 servings

45 minutes to 1 hour - 30 minutes prep time 

 

2 cups diced (1 medium) fennel bulb 

2 cups diced (2 medium) leeks

2 tablespoons butter OR chicken fat

3 cups diced (4 medium) potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

1 teaspoon fennel seed

2 tablespoons barley or wheat flour

4 cups chicken OR vegetable stock

1/4 cup chopped fresh green fennel fronds

Wash, trim, and dice the fennel, discarding the tough stalks and root plate. Save a frond or two to garnish.  Wash, trim, and dice the leeks.

Heat the butter or chicken fat in a large heavy, bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel and leeks and cook gently stirring regularly, for 10 to 15 minutes until softened and reduced but not browned. Meanwhile, dice the potatoes. Add them when there is about 5 minutes more for the vegetables to cook.  Add the seasonings and flour, and mix in until no dry flour can be seen. 

Add the chicken stock and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. You may wish to mash them a bit before serving, or not. Serve each bowl garnished with a tablespoon of the finely chopped fennel fronds. 

Last year at this time I made Graham Muffins.

I went and bought some blue cheese on a whim (by which I mean it was on sale) and then I needed something to do with it. A look around the cupboards rounded up the usual suspects and a seasonal cauliflower, so macaroni and cheese it was. It's fairly different from the usual macaroni and cheese, but if you like blue cheese it's very good stuff. I'd have thrown some sautéed mushrooms in if I had had any mushrooms, but I didn't. You could. 

Also, I dare not refer to this as mac and cheese, as my mother screams with horror at the degeneracy of modern manners and morals every time she sees macaroni and cheese disrespected that way. It isn't even macaroni and cheese, really; I used rotini as it seems so hard to find good old elbow macaroni these days. Any small, stubby pasta will work just fine.

 

3 to 6 servings

1 hour 20 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

 

4 cups small cauliflower florets

225 grams to 250 grams (1/2 pound) macaroni or similar pasta

 

Wash, trim, and prepare the cauliflower. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook the pasta with the cauliflower for half the recommended time for the pasta; usually 5 or 6 minutes. (If for some reason the pasta cooking time is not 5 or 6 minutes, that's still how long to cook the cauliflower.) Drain well.

200 grams (1/2 pound) cream cheese

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons barley or other flour

125 grams (1/4 pound) blue cheese

2 cloves of garlic

NO to 1/8 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

 

Mix the milk slowly into the cream cheese to make a smooth sauce. Mix in the flour, then crumble the blue cheese and mix it in. Peel and mince the garlic and mix it into the sauce with the remaining seasonings. Salt will depend on how salty your particular blue cheese is.

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup fine bread crumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a shallow 2 quart baking dish (8" x 10" lasagne pan). 

Mix the Parmesan and the bread crumbs, and rub in the butter until they are evenly moistened. 

Mix the drained pasta and cauliflower into the sauce. Spread it all evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the Parmesan bread crumbs. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly at the edges. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. 

Last year at this time I made Koresh Karafs - Persian Celery Stew.

It's like all the ingredients for a favourite salad, in a hot vegetable dish. Well, no vinegar. It occurs to me a few drops, or some lemon juice, sprinkled over it would not go amiss.

 

As usual with spinach, most of the work is in cleaning and preparing it. Make sure you have everything ready to go before you start cooking because the cooking goes extremely fast - there's no time to be rummaging for raisins in the back of the cupboard. Everything else should be heading off to the table just after the spinach hits the pan.

 

4 servings

20 minutes to wash and sort the spinach

15 minutes to finish the dish

 

8 cups loosely packed spinach leaves

1 medium tart cooking apple

1 to 3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup pine nuts, chopped almonds, OR pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Wash and pick over the spinach. Drain and wash again. Drain very well. 

 

Peel (or not) and core the apple, and cut it into dice. Peel and mince the garlic. Measure out the raisins and nuts or seeds.

 

Heat the oil and the spinach to the pan, turning it to get it all wilted down. Add the apple and garlic and mix in well. Add the raisins and nuts or seeds, and mix in well. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the spinach is done to your liking - not too long; it's spinach. Serve at once.Last year at this time I made Spinach & Feta Stuffed Leeks.

Apparently this dish, which is sort of the Egyptian version of fast food hamburgers, was invented in the 1970s by a butcher named Hawawshi, who sold them in Cairo from a cart. 

 

It's a simple mixture of spiced meat with some vegetables, stuffed into pita bread halves (in Egypt they use a slightly thicker but similar bread called baladi; if you can get it you should use that) and baked or grilled until the meat is cooked. 

 

Many recipes call for wrapping the mixture in a homemade bread dough, but it's at least as common just to use pre-made bread. I was perfectly happy with whole wheat pitas. I've made these a couple of times, once right on the parchment and once on a rack to keep them out of the oil that exudes as they bake. It helped, but didn't make as much difference as I expected, so if you don't have one, don't worry. Some people call for cooking these in a panini grill. I haven't tried that, but I plan to. Also, you can fill these and freeze them for later. Thaw in the fridge before cooking. 

 

Keep the vegetables as dry and well-drained as you can to keep the hawawshis from getting soggy. Be sure when you are filling them to get the meat spread right to the edges, and in a thin, even layer. For this reason, cut and open all the pitas before you start filling - it will be hard to get them open properly otherwise.   

 

4 servings

50 minutes - 20 minutes prep time 

 

1 small onion

1/4 large red or orange pepper

1 medium plum (paste) tomato

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley 

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint OR 1 teaspoon rubbed dry mint

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander seed

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (to taste)

400 grams (14 ounces) ground beef OR lamb OR blend

2 large OR 3 medium pita breads

a little olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. If you have a rack you can put over it, it's a good idea to keep the hawawshi off the paper.

 

Peel and chop the onion finely, and put it in a mixing bowl (along with everything else, up to the pita bread). Wash, trim, and chop the pepper finely. Chop the tomato finely, and salt it - set it aside to drain. It should be quite dry when added to the bowl. Wash and dry the herbs, and chop them finely. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds and add them with all the other herbs.

Add the beef or beef and lamb mixture, and mix well by hand.

Cut the pita in half and gently be sure they are completely open. Fill each half with a proportionate quantity of the filling, pressing it right up to the edges in a thin, even layer. Brush each filled half pita lightly with olive oil and lay it gently on the rack (or parchment paper, if you haven't got one). 

Once they are all filled and on the tray in a single layer, bake them for 15 minutes at 400°F. Turn them over and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp and browned. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Last year at this time I made Cauliflower Fritters.

I've made this three times in the last couple of weeks. The first time I had no intention of posting it - it was so plain and basic. But I enjoyed it a lot, and wanted to make it again, so I decided to make it and post it. Unfortunately, that effort turned out to be on one of the days we had a tornado warning, and while we did not have a tornado, it was so dark that I could not get a good picture. 

So here it is, the lucky third time. It's getting late enough that the zucchini are coming to an end, but hopefully there are still a few around. You can use whatever kind of white fish you like, really. I've been serving it over some drained whole grain ramen noodles and really enjoying the combination, but rice or quinoa would also be an excellent choice. I have been seasoning it very lightly - all the veggies are fresh from the garden and so good just as they are, and I don't want to overwhelm the fish. You could certainly season it up a bit, though, if you like. Italian seasonings? Curry powder? Something else?

 

2 servings

30 minutes - 20 minutes prep time

 

 

2 medium (225 grams; 1/2 pound) tomatoes 

2 medium (400 grams; scant pound) zucchini

1 small onion

1/2 red or orange pepper

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

1 bay leaf

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 fillets of whitefish OR 4 perch fillets (about 450 grams; 1 pound)

 

Put a small pot of water on to boil which will just cover the tomatoes. When it boils, add them and blanch for 1 minute. Transfer them to the sink and run cold water on them until cool. Peel them, chop them, and set them aside. 

 

Meanwhile, wash, trim, and dice the zucchini fairly finely. Peel and chop the onion. Wash, trim, and chop the pepper. Peel and mince the garlic. 

 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, onion, and pepper, with the bay leaf, and cook until softened, reduced in volume, and lightly browned; between 5 and 10 minutes. Stir regularly. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Add the garlic and cook it in for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes. Mix in well. If the mixture seems too dry, add a few spoonfuls of water or tomato juice. 

 

Lay the fish fillets over the top of the vegetables and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat if it seems to be bubbling a bit too madly. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, until the fish is done. Serve with rice, noodles, or quinoa. 

Last year at this time I made Cream of Cauliflower Soup.

Real falafels are not terribly difficult to make, but they do require the chick peas to be soaked in advance, and then they must be mixed in a food processor. All of which is very do-able! But sometimes you want something just a little simpler. Or maybe you are just out of chick peas, but have some quinoa, in which case you could make these instead. I don't think they are quite as good as the real thing, but somehow just cooking the quinoa in advance then mixing by hand makes them feel easier. They are still pretty darn good! Moreover, this is an excellent way to use up leftover cooked quinoa.

I do assume you have chick pea flour on hand; I use it for just about every kind of fritter and lots of other things too and could not get along without it. 

Unless and until you wrap these up in pita bread, they are gluten free. I haven't made these into a patty and eaten them in a bun yet, but I am very likely to. In that case I expect to get 6 patties.

 

The quinoa has some of the sandy texture of the soaked chick peas in the original falafel recipe but they are a little softer in texture. The flavour is really pretty close. 

 

I made these twice before posting; the first time they fell apart in the pan as I had not added enough chick pea flour. On my second go 'round, they were fine, but I found that, unlike the first time, I had to add a little water. This had less to do with the amount of chick pea flour, and more to do with differing moisture levels in the cooked quinoa. The second batch of quinoa sat a little longer, I think. In any case, you may or may not need to add some water at the end of mixing - it must be moist enough to form a ball when squeezed, but really no moister.

 

4 to 6 servings

45 minutes prep time - NOT including cooking the quinoa

 

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup finely diced white OR green onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1/4 to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (to taste)

1 cup chick pea flour

none to 2 tablespoons water

oil to fry

 

To cook the quinoa: it is easiest to use leftover cooked quinoa, but to produce 2 cups cooked you will need approximately 3/4 cup of raw quinoa. To cook 3/4 cup quinoa, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 cups water. Cook it in the rice cooker, or in a small pot on the stove over low heat (once boiling); it will take approximately 20 minutes and should be cooled to room temperature before you start the falafels. 

Peel or trim the onion and chop it finely. Wash and dry the cilantro and parsley and chop them finely. Put them in a mixing bowl with the prepared quinoa. Be sure the quinoa is broken down so each of the grains is separate, not stuck into large clumps. 

Grind the salt and cumin seed, and add them to the bowl with the Aleppo pepper and chick pea flour. Mix well. 

If the cooked quinoa is moist enough that the mixture can be squeezed together to form a ball, do not add any water, but mix by hand until you have stiff, not very crumbly dough. If it is too dry for this, add a little water, a spoonful at a time, until you are able to get it to hold together, but do not add enough to make it moist and soft - it should be quite stiff. 

Divide the dough into 16 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. 

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or aebleskiver (or appam) pan over medium heat. If you are using the latter, a teaspoon or so in each compartment will be sufficient; otherwise add enough to shallow-fry the falafels. Cook over medium heat until browned and crisp, turning to cook evenly all over. They will need 2 or 3 minutes per side; if they are browning too fast reduce the heat. Set them on paper towel as they are cooked. 

Serve warm or at room temperature, with salad or wrapped in pita (with some salad). If you like, serve with one or both of the following sauces. 

1/4 cup tahini

the juice of 1 small lemon

a little water

Mix the tahini with a little of the lemon juice until smooth; continue adding and mixing until all the juice is in. Slowly add a little water and continue mixing until the sauce is the texture of mayonnaise. 

chile-garlic sauce

mayonnaise

Put as much chile-garlic sauce as you think is likely to be eaten in a small bowl. Add about an equal amount of mayonnaise or a bit less, and mix. If you think it needs more mayonnaise add more to achieve the balance you like. 

Last year at this time I made Beet Salad with Red Onions & Parsley.

The first time I made this, we weren't too impressed with it, so there leftovers. The leftovers, on the other hand, were amazing! So thus I figured that this was better as a room temperature salad type dish (that Turkish zeytinyagli influence again) than as a hot vegetable. Also that it needed to be cooked longer than I usually cook vegetables. And I can attest that it will certainly do it no harm to wait (well covered) in the fridge overnight. 

I was much happier with this second attempt, which I made a couple of hours ahead. It might  be even better for a longer rest. I was expecting leftovers again, but Mr. Ferdzy pretty much inhaled it, so that hypothesis is untested. 

Go lightly with the nutmeg; just a whisper. I used water, but I believe I used stock the first time I made it. It adds to it, I'd say, but water is certainly good enough.

 

4 to 6 servings

40 minutes prep time - hours to rest

 

2 cups chopped green beans

2 cups sliced fennel bulb

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt, pepper & freshly ground nutmeg to taste

1/2 cup water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock 

the juice of 1/2 medium lemon

Wash, trim, and slice the green beans into bite-sized pieces. Trim the fennel bulb, discarding tough stems, any core, and the root plate. Slice into pieces similar to or a little larger than the green bean pieces. Peel and sliver the shallots. Peel and mince the garlic. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the fennel for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until quite soft but not browned. Mix in the shallots, then the beans. Add a couple tablespoons at a time of the water or stock to help cook the beans down, and cook them, stirring regularly, until tender; another 10 or 15 minutes, adding the water or broth as needed. 

While they cook, season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste, and a little grate of nutmeg. 

When the vegetables look about done to your liking, add the garlic and mix it in well; let it cook for a minute or so. Then stir in the lemon juice. 

 

Let the dish rest for several hours to overnight (in that case refrigerate), and serve at room temperature. 

Last year at this time I made Ham & Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Roulades en Casserole.

You must cook the beets for this in advance; I think it's easiest to do it a day ahead. Then you can make the filling right away, or the next day when ready to proceed - whichever is most convenient. As usual with this sort of advance cooking, they could be left over from another meal. If you no longer have the beet greens, of if they weren't that great to start with, they can be replaced with Swiss chard, which is, after all, only another kind of beet green.

 

The resulting empanadas are light but substantial enough to carry the meal. We ate them with some vegetables sticks and dip, and there were enough for two lunches. I made 6 empanadas but next time would probably make 8 - we found that 1 was not quite enough, but 2 would have been too many, so split 1 at each meal. 

And delightful as these were, I must spare a moment to rave about last years dish - Coconut Macaroon Peach Crisp! I should make it again while I can still find peaches, because it was quite amazing.

 

6 to 8 empanadas - 4 servings

20 minutes to make the filling, NOT including cooking the beets

1 hour 30 minutes - 40 minutes prep time to form & bake the empanadas

 

1 cup (2 medium) finely diced cooked beets

1 small onion

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

2 cups finely chopped beet greens OR Swiss chard

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon rubbed oregano

freshly ground black pepper to taste

150 grams (5 ounces) feta cheese

 

Roast (wrapped in foil) or boil the beets until tender; about 45 minutes to an hour. Allow to cool at least enough to handle, but this can be done up to a day ahead. 

 

Peel and chop the onion fairly finely. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash, trim, and chop the beet greens. 

 

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions until softened and slightly browned; about 10 minutes. Stir regularly. Add the garlic and seasonings and cook for another minute or so, then add the beet greens and cook them just until wilted down. Transfer to a mixing bowl or coverable dish and allow to cool at least enough to handle, but again, this can be done up to a day ahead.

 

2 1/3 cups whole spelt flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup mild vegetable oil

1 medium egg

extra flour to roll out

1 medium egg

2 tablespoons cream

 

Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and blend. Grate in the butter. Measure the buttermilk and oil, and whisk one of the eggs into them. Mix into the flour to form a dough, but do not overmix. Cover it and let it rest for 15 or 20 minutes. 

Divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal pieces. Dust each one with flour and roll them out on a pastry board or piece of parchment paper to form a thin circle 7"-8" in diameter. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. 

As the circles of dough are rolled out, place 1/6 or 1/8 of the filling on one half of it, leaving space clear around the edge to fold and seal the empanada. Spread it out to reasonably flat and evenly distributed. Fold over the clear half of the dough, and press sealed around the edges. Fold the edges in, pinching them closed. Transfer the finished empanada to the prepared pan. Continue with the remaining ingredients. Poke all the empanadas with a fork to allow the steam to escape.

Mix the cream into the remaining egg. Brush the empanadas with this mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow the empanadas to cool to room temperature before serving.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Coconut Macaroon Peach Crisp. 

Somebody described this in a Guardian food column, and it sounded so good. When I searched for it, up came a number of versions. This one has it elaborately folded into 4 slices of light toast, like a cross between a club sandwich, a toasted Western, and origami. A toasted Eastern, maybe, and all the better for the extra flavours. People generally do seem to eat them in a sandwich, perhaps with sliced tomato or cheese, perhaps with Green Chutney, although honestly, ketchup gets mentioned much more often.

 

I did my usual (now) thing and put in a little potato starch for better holding and folding, but you don't have to. Most versions seem pretty unspiced for an Indian dish, just calling for salt and pepper, but a little cumin and turmeric will liven it up if you feel deprived. Some versions just put the raw vegetables straight into the eggs, but a few minutes spent softening them up beforehand will definitely improve it. Really, it's a pretty straightforward omelette but the combination of onions, chiles, and cilantro is delightful. I wouldn't pass up on the tomato either, but make sure it's a fairly dry one (or use the juice in place of the water) AND chop it very finely, or it won't set properly.

 

2 omelettes

30 minutes prep time

 

1 small onion OR 2 shallots

1 small hot green chile

1/4 yellow or red sweet pepper

1 small tomato (optional)

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons mild vegetable oil

 

Peel and chop the onion or shallots. Wash, trim, de-seed, and mince the chile and sweet pepper. Core and chop the tomato, and drain it well if watery. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash, dry, trim, and chop the cilantro. 

 

Heat the oil in a flat griddle or skillet over medium heat. Add the onion (shallots) and peppers. Cook until softened and slightly browned; several minutes. Add the garlic and mix it in, then add the tomato. Cook until the tomato is just softened, then stir in the cilantro. Transfer the vegetables into the bowl of whisked eggs, and mix them in. Wipe the skillet with a piece of paper towel to clean off any remaining bits. 

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon potato starch (optional)

4 large eggs

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground (optional)

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

While the vegetables are cooking, whisk the water and potato starch in a small mixing bowl. Break in the eggs, whisking after each one goes in. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and turmeric. 

Heat half the oil in the cleaned skillet, and pour in half the egg mixture with the vegetables mixed in. Cook until mostly set, then fold it in half. Press gently to work any uncooked egg to the edge of it to finish cooking. Transfer it to a plate. Wipe the skillet again, add the remaining oil, and repeat with the remaining egg and vegetable mixture. Serve at once. 

Last year at this time I made Peperoni con la Mollica.

It's not zucchini season without some stuffed zucchini! It's not zucchini season without some ratatouille... so this, I suppose, was deliciously inevitable. 

This is a little more fiddly than just making ratatouille, but not by too much. Mostly it's blanching the zucchini. I've taken to doing this whenever I stuff zucchini, because it makes them cook so much better. They are easier to carve out, too.

 

You could use leftover ratatouille for this, making it a little different from the first time around, and a more elegant presentation than leftovers usually get.

If I had been on the ball (I was not on the ball; what else is new?) I would have put some parboiled potatoes coated in oil in the empty spaces in my pan and roasted them with the zucchini. Next time! We had these with steamed brown rice and hot tomato sauce poured over them. 

I'm assuming people will eat both halves of a zucchini, but this would also make an attractive appetizer course in a multi-course meal in which case one half per person would be plenty.

 

3 to 4 servings

2 hours - 1 hour 15 minutes prep time

 

 

3 large (500 grams; 1 pound EACH) zucchini

OR 4 medium (300 grams; 10 ounces EACH ) zucchini

2 or 3 medium tomatoes 

1 medium onion

1 small yellow or red pepper

1 medium (300 grams; 10 ounce) eggplant

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon rubbed basil OR 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil

1 teaspoon rubbed oregano

225 grams (1/2 pound) feta cheese

1/3 cup fine bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Parmesan 

2 cups hot tomato sauce (optional)

Peel and chop the onion. Wash, de-seed, and chop the pepper. Wash and trim the eggplant, and cut it into bite-sized chunks. Peel and mince the garlic. 

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and pepper until softened, stirring regularly, then add the eggplant. Drizzle over the remaining oil, mix well, and cook for about 10 or 15 minutes until the eggplant is quite soft and slightly browned in spots. Mix in the garlic and cook for a minute more.

Meanwhile, scrape out the centres from the zucchini, leaving the 1/2" shell. Chop the scraped out flesh. Chop the peeled tomatoes. Add them both to the eggplant, etc, and mix in well. Cook for a further 20 minutes to half an hour, until the mixture is moist but not watery. Stir regularly to prevent sticking. 

When the ratatouille is close to ready, preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan that will hold the prepared zucchini shells snugly in a single layer. 

Crumble the feta cheese and mix it into the ratatouille. Divide it equally amongst the prepared zucchini halves. Bake for 30 minutes at 375°F

 

Increase the heat to 400°F.  Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the stuffed zucchini. Return them to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until well browned. Serve with hot tomato sauce, if liked.

Last year at this time I made Acelgas Guisadas - Spanish Stewed Swiss Chard.

If you have to buy blackberries, they're expensive, but if you grow them yourself you will soon have more than you know what to do with. An old fashioned fool will use quite a few, and you can keep the sweetener down to a dull roar - or not - as you like. If you want it sweeter, I would increase the sugar rather than the honey; but honestly, this was delicious as it was. 

Keeping a bit of the berry purée and the whipping cream separate is simple enough, and makes for a nice interplay of textures and intensity of flavour.

 

4 servings

30 minutes prep time

 

4 cups blackberries

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons arrowroot

1 1/3 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

 

Rinse and drain the blackberries well. Pick out 12 to 16 of the best, and set them aside for a garnish. Put the rest into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until they are falling apart. Meanwhile, mix the arrowroot into the honey. When the blackberries are done, stir the mixture into them. As soon as it thickens (practically immediately) remove it from the heat.

 

Let the berries cool for a few minutes, then run them through a food mill or press the mixture through a sieve. Let it cool completely, and keep chilled until you are ready to proceed. 

 

Beat the whipping cream, with the sugar if you like. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream, then fold about 80% of the blackberry purée into the larger body of whipped cream. Spoon the fool into individual serving dishes. Top each with a bit of the reserved whipped cream, a few whole blackberries, and a spoonful of the blackberry purée drizzled over. Keep chilled until it is time to serve them.  

Last year at this time I made Broccoli Italian Style.

Found this one in an old cook book. As usual, I forgot to note which one, but it dated to 1916. I added some parsley because it needed something more. It's still a very simple salad and much depends on the quality of the ingredients, especially the bacon - be sure to get a good one. It does not need to be too lean because the fat will form part of the dressing, but it shouldn't be too fatty either. 

 

I've written this up on the assumption that you would make it from scratch, but in fact this is probably best as a use for leftover cooked cauliflower. Scale the other ingredients to match the quantity you have; but I suspect that if you are not terribly precise it doesn't matter much. 

 

4 to 6 servings

20 minutes prep time

 

4 cups cauliflower florets

1/3 cup finely minced chives

1/3 cup finely minced parsley

225 grams (1/2 pound) bacon

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

 

Wash and trim the cauliflower, and break it into smallish bite-sized florets. Wash and dry the chives and parsley, and mince them finely. Chop the bacon.

 

Boil or steam the cauliflower until just tender; about 6 minutes. Drain well. 

 

Just before the water for the cauliflower comes to the boil, put the bacon in skillet sufficiently large for it, and cook it over medium heat until crisp. If there is too much fat - you want about 3 tablespoons worth - drain some off. Have the mustard, salt and pepper, and vinegar whisked together in a small bowl, and add them to the bacon as soon as you turn the heat off. Mix well, but be careful - it will spit and sputter quite a lot.

Pour this dressing over the very well drained cauliflower and mix well. Mix in the chives and parsley, and allow it all to cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature.