Seasonal Ontario Food

This photo was taken hastily, while I swatted Mr. Ferdzy away with one hand. He has been amazingly good at supporting me in my new diet, which let's be real, is basically his new diet too. But when there were fresh banana muffins, right out of the oven, they plainly called to him!

I'm pretty pleased with these. Banana is not the ideal fruit for pre-diabetics to eat, but it's a reasonable sometimes thing. Mix it with whole, high-fibre grains, and no further sugar (really not required) and the results are excellent. Like most muffins, they are super simple to make. You could get 12 little muffins out of this recipe, but I got 9, and I can see as few as 8 being possible. Other than the need to adjust the baking time slightly, there is no reason not to make whichever number of muffins you like. 

8 to 12
40 minutes - 15 minutes prep time


Mix the Dry Ingredients:
1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup oat bran
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
a little scrape of nutmeg OPTIONAL

Measure them into a mixing bowl and, er, mix.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put muffin liners into your muffin pan. In theory, it could be oiled and floured, but in practice, has anyone done that in decades? 

Finish the Muffins:
2 cups (4 large or 5 small) mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup mild vegetable oil
1 large egg

Peel and mash the bananas thoroughly. Mix the oil into them, then break in the egg and mix it in.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined and no dry ingredients remain, but do not over-mix. Spoon the batter out evenly between the muffin cups.

Bake at 375°F for 22 to 26 minutes, until firm and very lightly browned. They really should sit and cool for at least 15 minutes before being eaten, but good luck with that. I got 9 muffins and they took 25 minutes.





Last year at this time I made "Tandoori" Tofu. 

Soooo...

This seems as good a time as any to say that I've been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Things are going to have to change around here. I've always tried not to go wild with the sugar, being well aware that diabetes is not so much a possibility as a certainty on my Dad's side of the family. I've tried to pretend that I would take after Mom's side, but the observation that I am built like my Dad could not help but be made. Apparently that does include the tendency to diabetes. I do have the family sweet-tooth, however inclined I may be to cut the sugar in half when making desserts.

Yeah, this recipe is part of the problem and not part of the solution. I made it before I got the word from on high, so it won't get made again any time soon, I regret to say. It was delicious though, so go for it if you can. 

16 servings
1 hour prep time
plus allow some time to cool


Mix the Dry Ingredients:
2 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 to 8 pods of green cardamom

Put everything into a large mixing bowl. The cardamom must first be lightly crushed and the papery husks removed. Grind the remaining seed as finely as you can, and then add it to the bowl. Mix well. 

Mix the Wet Ingredients & Finish the Cake:
3 cups (375 grams; 3/4 pound) grated parsnips
1 14 ox (400ml) tin crushed pineapple
3 large eggs
2/3 cup mild vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of 2 8" square pans with parchment paper, and butter and flour the sides.

Peel and grate the parsnips, and put them in another mixing bowl. Add the crushed pineapple, along with all the juice. Break in the eggs, and add the oil and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together well.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine thoroughly, but do not over-mix. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans and spread it out evenly as well.

Bake the cakes at 350°F for about 40 minutes, until they spring back when lightly touched, or pass the toothpick test (no wet crumbs adhere to an inserted toothpick). Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pans to finish cooling on racks. They can be frosted and stacked, or not, as you like.




Last year at this time I made Barbunya Zeytinyagli. 

Clay Pot Chicken is a favourite dish of southern China, into Singapore and Malaysia. It is indeed traditionally cooked in a clay pot - just not one like this. Chinese clay pots were designed to cook over a charcoal fire, and the dish would subsequently pick up a bit of a smoky flavour. That's somewhat of a thing of the past though, since charcoal fires have gotten pretty rare. And in the mean time, I have this other clay pot... and it turns out that it works very well.

Of course we can't get lap cheong sausages anywhere within 2 hours of driving. However, it's amazing how well pepperettes do as a stand-in. Or maybe I'm just deluding myself? Do use the real thing if you can get it. 

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time
PLUS 8 hours marinating time


Marinate the Chicken:
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon (2 or 3 cloves) finely grated garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 medium (600 grams; 1.5 pounds) bone-in chicken thighs

Peel and grate the ginger and garlic. Mix it in a container sufficient to hold the chicken thighs with the soy sauce and rice vinegar.

De-bone the chicken thighs but leave the skin on. Cut each into 2 or 3 pieces. Mix them well into teh marinade, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.

Start the Rice:
1 1/2 cups short-grain white rice
2 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt

Soak the base and lid of the Romertopf in water for 20 to 30 minutes

Drain the Romertopf. Put the rice, salt, and chicken stock in the Romertopf, spreading the rice out evenly. Put it in the oven and turn the oven on to 375°F. Set the time for 30 minutes.

Finish the Dish:
6 to 8 medium shallots
125 grams (1/4 pound) fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
2 lap cheong sausages OR 4 small turkey pepperettes
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 or 2 green onions

Peel and sliver the shallots. Remove and discard (you know what I mean) the stems from the shiitakes. Cut them in slices.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the shallots and shiitakes and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and slightly browned in spots. Transfer them to a dish.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Let as much marinade drain off them as possible as they get placed in the pan. Save the marinade, it's going in shortly but let the chicken brown for 3 or 4 minutes per side first. Add the sausages, give them a minute to be stirred down into the pan, then scrape in all the marinade. As soon as it boils up remove the pan from the stove.

Take the Romertopf out of the oven and remove the lid, with good thick mitts and being careful to place it on a dry and heat-proof surface. Gently mix in the vegetables, the chicken, and its sauce. Spread it all out evenly again, and cover with the lid. Return it to the oven for a further 20 to 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, drizzle the sesame oil and oyster sauce over the rice. Have the onions washed, trimmed, and finely chopped. Sprinkle them over the top as well. (A little cilantro is also commonly used, and can be added when it is in season.)




Last year at this time I made Taiwanese Noodles.

This is probably one of the best-known Ethiopian dishes. It's traditionally made with a whole chicken, but drumsticks or thighs seem ubiquitous in the restaurants I've had it in. They are really a lot more convenient! Especially if you are only serving 8 to 12 people. *removes tongue from cheek* But seriously, like and combined with all the other dishes made for this feast, a little goes a long way.

Allow one chicken thigh per person, or if you really are serving a big group, I'd get fairly big ones, remove the bones and cut each one in half and serve half per person. Feel free to adjust the number of eggs in pursuit of convenience as well. I don't think big changes to the cooking sauce need to be made even if the quantities of chicken and eggs are somewhat rejigged.

The Niter Kibe should be made a day in advance. The stew itself can be made a day in advance as well, or at least earlier in the day it will be wanted, and re-heated. Don't add the eggs until the stew is being re-heated or the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. You can haul them out and slice them just before serving, as I did, and it looks nice but it's not really required.

20 minutes prep time for Niter Kibe & Eggs
1 hour to finish the dish
4 to 8 servings


Make the Niter Kibe (Spiced Butter) & Boil Eggs
1 clove garlic
2 slices ginger
1 small shallot
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon (4 or 5 pods) ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon rubbed basil
1/4 teaspoon rubbed savory
1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs

Peel and slice the garlic, ginger, and shallot, and put them in a small bowl. Add the remaining spices.

Heat the butter in a very small skillet over medium heat, until melted and just sizzling. Add the contents of the bowl and mix them in well. Let the mixture simmer gently - reduce the heat if required - for 10 minutes. Do not let anything brown. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes, then strain it into a small bowl - the one you have already been using is a good choice - and let cool. Keep refrigerated until wanted. This can be done a day in advance.

Put the eggs into a pot with water to cover them well. Bring them to a boil and boil them steadily for 1 minute. Cover the pot and remove from the heat. Let them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes, then drain off the water and cover them with cold water. Let cool completely. This can be done a day in advance. Peel them just before you want them.

Prepare the Onions & Seasonings:
1 medium onion
3 shallots
1 tablespoon finely minced (3 or 4 cloves) fresh garlic
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 to 2 teaspoons berbere
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ajwan seeds, ground

Peel and chop the onion and shallots, and set them aside together. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger, and set them aside together with the berbere, salt, and ground ajwan seeds.

Make the Chicken Stew:
4 large or 6 small chicken thighs
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil, if needed
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 teaspoon (18 to 24 pods) ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground chick pea flour

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken thighs in, skin-side down and cook gently until lightly browned and some fat is rendered. If it looks like you will not have enough (you will need it to cook the onions and shallots) add a tablespoon of mild vegetable oil.

Add the onions and shallots around the chicken pieces and stir them down into the fat. Turn the chicken pieces over and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring and checking regularly to make sure the onions don't burn. When they are softened and translucent and the chicken is lightly browned, add the ginger, garlic, and spices. Mix in well and let cook for another minute or two. Add the Niter Kibe and let it melt into the mixture.

Carefully pour the chicken stock over the chicken. Mix in well, to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly and turning the chicken every 10 minutes or so.

If you are making this in advance and re-heating it, now is the time to take a break. 

Grind the cardamom, discarding the papery husks. Mix it with the chick pea flour and sprinkle it over the chicken. Mix it in well. Add the peeled but whole hard-boiled eggs. Simmer for 10 minutes more, turning the eggs occasionally. If you are starting with the cold stew prepared in advance, bring it up to a good simmer before you add things and start timing then.

We love Ethiopian food, but you can't get it around here, no surprise. Quite a few of the usual ingredients are also impossible to get. I've been thinking of trying to make an Ethiopian meal for a while, but up until now I've been put off by my inability to get certain things. I still can't get them, but I guess I have reached the stage where I am willing to forge ahead anyway and live with the less-than-perfect results. So, over the next 2 weeks I'm going to post recipes for our Ethiopian feast. Several of them start with the spice blend known as berbere, so here's a recipe for that.

Berbere traditionally contains rue seed. That's ruta chalepensis, which I have never seen. It looks, from the photos, very similar to ruta graveolens which is occasionally grown in gardens for its attractive lobed blue-green leaves. It's a member of the citrus family, oddly enough, and like citrus it is supposed to repel cats. I think it did keep cats out of my flower beds when I grew it. I frankly thought it had a very unpleasant odour, and it is a byword in bitterness. I see a lot of recipes on the internet don't even mention it. So, okay.

That's a lot of carrying-on about an ingredient that isn't in this recipe. In spite of the fact that it's a traditional ingredient in Ethiopian cooking, I'm not at all sure I've ever had any food which contained it - it sounds like it would be very distinctive to say the least - so I decided to let it go and not worry about it. I couldn't get the ajwan either, but that's a reasonably common ingredient in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, and it should be available in more civilized locales.

Even without the rue, making berbere is a pungent experience. If you can set up a burner outside to do it, so much the better. And if you are in a place where you can actually buy pre-made berbere - well, go for it!

All the recipes I use in this set will lean heavily on a book called "Taste of Ethiopia - The Other Good Food" by Webayehu Tsegaye, although as always, I fiddle with them. Even when I don't know what I'm doing.

about 1/4 cup
20 minutes prep time


1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon (about 12 pods) cardamom
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ajwan seeds (IF you can get them)
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion
1 tablespoon ground cayenne OR dried red chile (cayenne) flakes
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons rubbed basil

It is best to measure everything in advance and have it all standing by. Make this in a well-ventilated area, (*cough* outside *cough*).* Crush the cardomom pods and remove the husks before you get started.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Toast the cloves, cardamom, coriander, peppercorns, and ajwan until they begin to be fragrant. Add the dehydrated onions, cayenne and paprika, mix in well, and immediately tip everything out onto a plate to cool.

Put the cooled spices and everything else remaining (the paprika, ginger and basil) into a spice grinder and grind well. If you don't have one, grind the toasted spices first in a mortar and pestle. Sift, re-grinding the bits that don't go through the first time, then mix with the remaining spices. I actually used the "dry" attachment for my Vitamix, and that worked well.

When your berbere is made, keep it in a small, air-tight jar in a cool, dark spot until you are ready to use it. 




Last year at this time I made Baked Beans with Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary.


*cough... cough, cough. Cough. Sputter, choke. Cough.

I originally got this recipe from a "Needlecraft" magazine from the 1920s or 30s, from a molasses advertisement that claimed it was a one hundred and fifty year old recipe. Not exactly though, because it had measurements and instructions and everything, so it had at least been updated for the times. They did call for vegetable oil and I would be surprised if they hadn't been using lard a hundred and fifty years earlier. I have meddled with it since myself; I changed the flour and therefore the quantity required (if you want to use soft unbleached flour you can go back to the original 2 1/4 cups), the amount of spices (much more, thank you), and reduced the amount of molasses. So hardly anything, really. It's still a (now) 250 year old recipe for gingerbread. Or so you can tell yourself.

Gingerbread is a very old concept and it comes in every version from thick, hard slabs to the lightest and fluffiest of cakes, which is what this one is. I used to make this a lot so I was surprised to realize I have never posted it. Has it been that long since I made it?! Apparently yes. I was thinking I should start back up making it often - soon again, in fact - but then the 2 of us polished it off in less than 24 hours and now I have to reconsider. There may be a good reason I haven't made it in so long... you have been warned!

Be sure you use fancy molasses (the mild kind) and not blackstrap which is just too much.

12 servings
1 hour - 15 minutes prep time


Mix the Dry Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups whole spelt flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Measure these out into a small mixing bowl and blend them thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan with parchment paper, and butter and flour the sides. Put some water on to boil.

Finish the Gingerbread:
3/4 cups Sucanat OR dark brown sugar
1/2 cup mild vegetable oil OR soft  unsalted butter
1 large egg
3/4 cup fancy molasses
1 cup boiling water

Measure the Sucanat and oil (or butter) into a large mixing bowl. Break in the egg. Beat them together with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the molasses and beat again, then add the boiling water and beat again for just a minute.

Begin adding the dry ingredients, about a quarter at a time, beating in well between each addition. It is a good idea to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and give it one final beat.

Scrape the batter, which will be quite thin, into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until it springs back when lightly touched in the middle, or it passes the old toothpick test.

Let cool on a rack at least 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan, and let cool completely (or almost) before serving.





Last year at this time I made Quick Pan Chicken Gravy with Incidental Chicken Fingers.

This is a very classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, with a few minor changes. The addition of matcha green tea is the most obvious one, and matcha goes particularly well with white chocolate. As usual I have reduced the amount of sugar normally called for, with the result that they are slightly cakier and also slightly less obnoxiously over-sweet than most chocolate chip cookies. The matcha adds a certain astringency as well, which I think it best not to overwhelm with too much sugar.

I see so many photos of baked goods with matcha in bright, glowing green. My experience is that however lovely a shade of green the raw powder is, by the time it has been baked in you can expect it to be khaki. I am forced to conclude that bright green matcha baked goods include food colouring, if not some fiddling with the colour of the photos. You can certainly add a little green food colouring if you are so inclined, but reality is not subject to photoshopping. My own personal opinion is that khaki is a perfectly cromulent colour, even in a cookie, and especially ones that taste as good as these.

Given the price of vanilla these days, I omitted it, and since I think the absence of it kept the matcha flavour pure and clean, I am doubly sure it was a good idea.

48 cookies
1 hour prep time


2 cups soft unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons fine powdered matcha
1 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
8 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper. 

Measure the flour and mix in the salt, baking soda, and matcha.

Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, and beat in the sugar. Beat in the egg. Mix in the flour to form a smooth dough. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the dough out by tablespoons onto the prepared trays and bake at 375°F for 9 to 11 minutes, until just showing signs of browning at the the edges. I find that if the cookies are put sufficiently apart to not run into each other, then you will need 3 trays to bake them; but the first one can be recycled while the second tray is in the oven. Do let it cool slightly before dishing out that batch of cookies.





Last year at this time I made Fruitcake Cookies. Yes, it's Christmas baking time!

I first mixed this up many years ago (not this batch!) from a description in I Hear America Cooking, by Betty Fussell. It listed the spices, without the proportions, but it sounded interesting enough for me to come up with a version. I think I added a few things too.

Use this with chicken, fish, or pork, or in soups and stews. I made it up to use on Roast Chicken in a Clay Pot, but there will be about half of it left over. It's not a bad idea to make it a few days in advance to allow the flavours to blend. Once made, keep it in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 2 months.

about 1/4 cup
15 minutes prep time


Grind Some Spices:
3 or 4 pods of green cardamom
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Crush the cardamom pods and remove the papery green husks. Add the remaining spices and grind well until everything is fine. Put them in a small bowl or jar. 

Add Some Spices:
1 teaspoon rubbed tarragon OR basil
1 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

Add the spices listed above to the ground spices. Blend well.





Last year at this time I made Balkan Sour Vegetable Soup.

Our apples, as usual, are few and rather awful, but we managed to scrounge enough to make a batch of this mincemeat. Other than apples or pears, I'm afraid this is pretty determinedly non-local, but about every 5 years or so I hear the call of the mincemeat anyway. It's quite rich and there are all kinds of other Christmas goodies I like just as well if not better, but this year the urge struck so here it is.

In spite of the number of ingredients it's actually pretty quick and straightforward, as far as canning projects go. Apples will give a firmer, tarter mincemeat, and pears will make it softer and sweeter. I have also given up all pretense of putting any "meat" (or suet, etc) into my mincemeat, so this is vegetarian.

Part of the reason I decided to make mincemeat this year is that I have been seeing a lot of recipes for other things to do with it besides tarts and pies and I plan to try some of them out. Stay tuned!

6 - 500 ml jars
2 hours prep time


Mix the Spices:
1 teaspoon allspice berries
5 or 6 pods green cardamom
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt

Grind the allspice and cardamom - remove the papery husks from the cardamom after the first few blows - until quite fine. Mix them with the remaining spices and salt in a small bowl. 

Mix the Fruit:
2 cups sultanas
2 cups raisins
2 cups mixed candied peel
1 cup finely chopped preserved ginger

Measure the sultanas, raisins, and candied peel into a large mixing bowl. Chop and measure the ginger, and add it as well. 

And Finish:
12 cups peeled and chopped apples OR pears
1/2 cup lemon juice
the finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
the juice of 2 large oranges
1 1/4 to 2 cups rum or brandy

Put the jars on to boil in a canner with at least an inch of water to cover them. Put the lids and rings into another pot with water to cover, and bring them to a boil just before you are ready to can the mincemeat.

Meanwhile, peel, chop, and measure the apples or pears, and put them in a maslin pan or other large heavy-bottomed pan with the lemon juice and bring them up to boil. Grate in the orange zest. Squeeze the oranges and add the juice. When the apples or pears begin to soften a bit, add the prepared dried fruits and the spices. Mix well. Heat until the whole mixture is boiling hot, stirring frequently - be careful, this mixture is very thick and scorches fairly easily. Spatter burns will likewise be sticky and unpleasant, so take care. You can add a little water or apple juice if it really looks like sticking, but don't over-do it.

When the jars have boiled for 10 minutes, drain them and place them on a clean board by the mincemeat. Add 2 tablespoons of rum or brandy to each jar as you will them. If you wish to add a spoonful or 2 on top as well, it will do it nothing but good. Fill the jars, then carefully wipe the rims with a bit of paper towel dipped in the boiling water. Place the prepared lids and rings on them, and tighten them just snugly. Return them to the boiling water bath for 40 minutes.

Let cool, test the seals, and label. The mincemeat should keep in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

This is a light and simple salad, but the clementines and pomegranate makes it very festive and seasonal, even if they are the fruits - literally - of other, far-off seasons.

Normally I would put nuts into a salad like this, but the pomegranates are so crunchy they act as fruit and nut both. Also normally I would say this makes 4 to 6 servings, but as a starter to a large and heavy meal it would go further. Maybe. At our family Christmas dinners, the salad always goes, however much there is and however much of other things are left over.

And since I plainly have Christmas dinner on my mind, it is time to take my usual break from blogging. For the first time since we moved here, I am not cooking it! We'll be in Windsor at my brother-in-laws. I expect to be back just before the New Year as usual. Hope everyone reading (and not) has an excellent holiday and happy new year; and hurray! The days are now getting longer!

4 to 8 servings
30 minutes prep time


Make the Dressing:
the juice of 1 clementine
3 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Squeeze the juice from the clementine and place it in a small bowl or jam jar. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk or shake together.

Make the Salad:
2 cups torn up hydroponic lettuce
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1 large stalk celery OR 1/2 cup peeled and grated celeriac
2 clementines
1 small to medium pomegranate

Wash, dry, and tear up the lettuce, and place it in a salad bowl. Wash, trim, and shred the cabbage and add it. Wash, trim, and slice the celery or peel and grate the celeriac, and add, ditto.

Peel and segment the clementines, being careful to remove any pith that wants to cling to them. Cut each across into 3 sections, and add them to the salad.

Cut the pomegranate in half and pick out all the seeds, discarding the skin and membrane. It's easiest to do this into its own bowl and  pick out any bits of membrane that have survived the process before adding about half of them to the salad. Toss the salad, drizzle over the dressing, then sprinkle the remaining pomegranate seeds over the top.




Last year at this time I made Beet, Apple, & Goat Cheese Stacked Salad.

This is an adaptation of a classic Czech Christmas cookie, originally published in a book of Christmas cookie recipes by Maria Janku-Sandtnerova almost 100 years ago. After I made them it occurred to me to check and see what other versions were out there, and I discovered that Martha Stewart posted a recipe for chocolate pretzels probably adapted from the same original, and that an awful lot of people really hated it, saying it lacked flavour, and was dry, and crumbly, and not sweet enough.

It's true this is not a very sweet cookie. That's one of the things that appealed to me about it. If it is dry, you have over-baked it, (and you should watch them, because they are so thin I expect that's easy to do) although it has to plead guilty to crumbling easily. I found the texture very shortbread-like.

I put mint extract into mine, but I would use vanilla, orange extract, almond extract, or strong coffee flavouring as Martha did. I would think they would also be excellent dipped into a chocolate coating, and maybe next time I will make them a little bigger and do that instead of using the sanding sugar. However I am very happy with how these turned out and expect them to disappear rapidly when introduced to the family. Until then, they are going to have to be hidden.

Oh - one last advantage to these cookies: I made an awful lot of cookies that call for egg whites only, so this was a great opportunity to get rid of a couple of egg yolks.

Makes 24 or 32
1 hour 15 minutes - 45 minutes prep time


1 cup soft unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon flavouring extract
1/4 cup coarse sanding sugar

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and cocoa (sift it into the bowl) in a mixing bowl. Line a couple of large baking pans with parchment paper.

Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or a couple of knives. When it is well worked in, add the egg yolks and the flavouring extract. Stir well - one of the forks will be best until it begins to come together. This is a dry enough dough that I find it needs to be pressed together by hand, a bit like pie pastry.

Once you have it in a good, smooth ball, start working on the pretzels at once. The longer the dough sits, the harder it gets to work. To keep the pretzel sizes even, it is convenient if you have a kitchen scale and can weigh each piece as you divide it. Otherwise you will just have to eye-ball it.  Divide the dough in half, and each half in half again, etc, until you have 32 even pieces. To make 24 slightly larger pretzels, once you have 8 portions, divide each one into 3 even pieces instead of 4.

Take each piece of dough and roll it out into a thin, even rope about 6" or 7" long (or 8" for the larger ones). Take an end and pinch it onto the rope just a little on the far side of the halfway point. At the same time, have the other end crossing over it and pinching into itself at the mirror-image spot to the other one... or to put it another way, form it into a pretzel.

Have the sanding sugar standing by in a shallow dish. Drop your pretzel (gently!) face-down in it and press it in evenly, then lift it out and place it face-up on the prepared baking tray. Congratulations! One down, 31 (or 23) left to go.

This is the time to preheat the oven to 325°F. 

Moving briskly along, make the remaining pretzels. Give the dish of sugar a little shake after each pretzel to level the sugar. If the dough gets crumbly, warm it in your hands for a moment or two before forming the rope, then just pinch it back together if they want to break. After a few you will get the knack of it

Bake the pretzels for 10 to 12 minutes, a minute or two longer if larger, and by larger I mean thicker. If you have just rolled them longer, then no. Let cool and store carefully in a tin in a cool, dark place. Can be frozen if made more than a few days in advance.




Last year at this time I made Leek & Spinach Dip.

Fruitcake cookies are a popular Christmas cookie. In fact, Mom and I both chose the same day to make some Christmas cookies, and when we were done we went to do a cookie exchange... and we had both made a version of them. Here's mine.

As I so often do, I've cut back on sugar (but thanks to all the add-ins they still have lots) and upped the spicing. My nuts were hazelnuts, which I think are best if toasted for 10 minutes at 375°F then rubbed in a towel to remove as much as the skin as is reasonable. Other than that, what is listed below is what I put in, but it's quite flexible. As long as you keep the same proportions, you can add whatever dry/preserved fruit-type things you like. You can see my love of candied ginger shining through, and I think I'll make a batch at some point where I replace the raisins with chocolate chips. If I'm out of sherry, I've been known to use rum.

60 cookies
1 hour - 40 minutes prep time


Mix the Fruit:
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup raisins
2 cups mixed chopped peel
1 cup chopped preserved ginger
1 cup slivered almonds OR other nuts of your choice
1/2 cup sherry

You will need to chop the ginger and possibly the nuts; otherwise, put them in a large mixing bowl and mix 'em, finishing up by pouring the sherry over them. I've taken to doing this the night before, except for the nuts, to give them a chance to really soak and to break up the work.

Mix the Dry Ingredients:
3 cups soft unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice berries, ground
3 or 4 pods (1/4 teaspoon) green cardamom, ground

Measure everything but the allspice and cardamom out into a smaller bowl and mix well. Grind the allspice and cardamom (remove and discard the papery green hulls) finely and add the bowl. Mix well.

Make the Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Cream the butter in mixing bowl, and work in the sugar. Work until light and creamy. Break in the eggs, one at a time, and mix them in. It will separate but that's okay. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Mix a little of the flour into the wet mixture, just to pull it together again. Dump the rest over the dried fruit along with any unabsorbed sherry and mix it in. Then begin mixing portions of the dried fruit and flour into the wet ingredients; say about a quarter at a time, until it is all in and well mixed.

This is a large bowl of dough, and ends up quite thick and sturdy. I find I have to stop mixing with a spoon and use my hands to get it to come together into a dough. If it really won't, you can add a few drops of milk to help work it together, but go very lightly with that and really, if you are mixing by hand it shouldn't be necessary.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line 3 large baking trays with parchment paper.

Form the dough into large cookies - I used a quarter cup measuring cup to scoop out dough, then divided it into 4 equal cookies; a standard disher also works well. Roll them slightly in your palms to keep them neat. If possible, I suggest "tucking in" any bits of fruit that are sticking noticeably out of the dough. Space them out on prepared pans.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until firm and just showing some colour. Let cool and store in a tin in a cool, dark place. They do improve with a bit of sitting, and should keep for a couple of weeks.




Last year at this time I made Super Seedy Rye Crackers.

I made these for my mother's 80th birthday party. Actually, I made them as a trial run first, and they disappeared so quickly and thoroughly that I had to make them again. I'm thinking I might make them again for Christmas too. Awfully good; yes.

They have a delightful combination of crispy-nutty and chewy textures. If you roll them in the icing sugar, they acquire a crackly outer texture, and are a little sweeter. Mom liked them better without the icing sugar, though. I liked them both about equally. I am sure other people will prefer the icing sugar...

To make the Almond-Poppyseed variation, replace the pistachios with 2 cups (200 grams) finely ground almonds, and the coconut with 1/2 cup (75 grams) of poppyseeds, which ideally should be ground. 

36 to 42 cookies
1 hour working time plus 1 or 2 hours chilling time



2 cups (225 g) whole but shelled pistachios
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (100g) unsweetened dessicated coconut, very fine
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 to 1/3 cup icing sugar (optional)

Put the pistachios in a food processor or dry blender (Vitamix) and grind until fine and floury. You should do this in several batches. Add some of the 1/2 cup of sugar to each batch. Put the pistachios in a mixing bowl. Add the coconut, grinding it up as well if it is not quite fine and floury. Mix in the salt.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, adding the sugar and cream of tartar as you go. Gently fold the pistachio and coconut mixture into the egg whites. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 1 or 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Using a small disher or a tablespoon, scoop out cookies. You can leave them plain, or roll them in the icing sugar, whichever you prefer. Set them out on the baking tray, giving them some space. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and mostly set. They should have just a little colour on the bottom.

Let cool and store in a well-sealed tin in a cool spot.

Has anyone else noticed that you can't get good old fashioned curry powder anymore? Oh, they're still selling stuff labelled "curry powder" but it's completely different and nowhere near as good. It's rough and unbalanced, and lacks the golden colour of yore. Where is the smooth and sprightly curry powder of yesteryear?!

Actually I blame the current fad that has declared turmeric to be a super-food; meaning that now they want you to pay through the nose and take it in capsules, instead of just eating the stuff.

Bah humbug.

Anyway, nothing to do but try making it myself. I don't know if it's the ultimate curry recipe - I can't get the original to compare, after all.  (Mutter, mutter.) My immediate thought is that this is good, but not quite there. Maybe a little more ginger? I have not added any heat at all; I thought I would take a hint from the Jamaicans and add it when making the dish. That way it's very flexible depending on to whom I am serving it. You can, however, add ground Cayenne ad lib.

EDIT: 25/04/18. Having made this a few times, I am quite happy with it. I think it is a good idea to make it a few days to a week in advance, to allow the flavours to really blend. It will hold reasonably well in a cool dark space thereafter, but don't keep it too long - a couple of months, tops. 

makes about 1/2 cup
20 minutes prep time


2 teaspoons green cardamom pods (about 24)
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Crush the cardamom pods lightly and remove and discard the green papery husks. Put the cardamom seeds into a spice grinder with the coriander, cumin, mustard, fenugreek, fennel and black pepper. Grind until fine.

Let the dust settle and remove the mixture to a small glass jar (250ml; 1 cup). Mix in the remaining spices. Cover tightly and keep in a cool, dark place until wanted.




Last year at this time I made Swedish Colcannon.

Cumberland sauce, named for the Duke of Cumberland, is - it will not surprise you, given the name - an English sauce from the Victorian era. Unlike an awful lot of Victorian English cooking it is not difficult, overly elaborate, or bland. This is actually quite zippy, even zingy.

Believe it or not I have reached the ripe old age of 56 without previously tasting Port. It's more like sherry than I would have supposed, given its' reputation as a purely masculine drink. A good robust sherry would probably make a respectable replacement for it, if you liked. Likewise, instead of half each of a lemon and an orange, I used an entire Meyer lemon - my first ripe one of the season.

Cumberland sauce is traditionally used with just about any kind of red meat; I made mine to go with a duck recipe. Next week is going to be duck week - stay tuned.

6 to 8 servings
15 minutes prep time


zest of 1/2 of a lemon
zest of 1/2 of an orange
the juice of 1/2 of a lemon
the juice of 1/2 of an orange
1/2 cup red currant jelly
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup Port

Zest the lemon and oranges into a small pot, then squeeze out and add the juices. Add the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the Port. Stir well to be sure the starch is completely dissolved.

Heat the mixture gently over medium to low heat, stirring regularly, until the currant jelly has dissolved and the starch has cooked and thickened the sauce very slightly. This is a thin sauce; the starch is just sufficient to give it a little body rather than to thicken it substantially.

When the sauce is ready, stir in the Port and remove it from the heat. Strain it through a sieve into a serving pitcher or gravy boat. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made A Late Winter Salad with Avocado.

In spite of the long list of ingredients this is pretty easy to put together, especially if you purée it instead of rubbing the sweet potatoes through a sieve which is what I did. What was I thinking? Washing the food processor would have been so much faster and easier.

Anyway, in spite of this being pretty easy to put together, it isn't super fast, what with having to cook the sweet potatoes in advance and also simmering the soup for a bit. I also thought the leftovers were even better than the first time around, and this should keep in the fridge for up to a week, so I would definitely say it's a thing to make in advance.

It's a very substantial soup; either serve small portions or don't serve too much else with it. I used the chicken stock, but the simple substitution of vegetable stock would make this vegetarian. I'm saying the keffir lime leaves and the lemongrass are optional, but do try to have at least one of them and both if you can get them. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time
not including roasting the sweet potatoes


Roast the Sweet Potatoes:
750 grams (1 1/2 pounds; 4 medium) sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the sweet potatoes and prick them with a fork; roast them until soft, about an hour to an hour and a quarter. Let cool enough to handle. This can be done up to a day ahead.

Make the Soup:
3 or 4 large shallots
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 cup coconut milk
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6 to 8 keffir lime leaves (optional)
the pared rind of a lime
1/4 cup chopped lemongrass (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 to 4 teaspoons finely minced pickled Jalapeño chile
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon salt
the juice of 1/2 lime
chopped cilantro to garnish
chopped roasted peanuts to garnish
lime wedges to garnish

Peel and mince the shallots. Peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the shallots and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until lightly browned throughout; at least 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and mix in well but let it cook for just a minute or two.

Add the coconut milk and stock to the soup pot and reduce the heat to low.

Put the lime leaves, pared lime rind (avoid the white pith as much as possible), the chopped lemongrass and the sliced ginger into a large spice ball, or tie it up in a bit of muslin and add it to the pot of soup. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Peel the sweet potatoes, and press them through a sieve or food mill into the soup. Alternatively, you can just chop them up and add them, then purée the soup before serving for a really smooth texture.

Measure the peanut butter in a large measuring cup. Ladle some of the soup in with it, and mix well before stirring it all back into the pot. (Although if  you are puréeing the soup, you can just dump it in and break it up as best you can first.) Season with the salt.

If you have opted to purée the soup - probably a smart move in retrospect, yeah I didn't - now is the time to do it.

Reheat the soup to serve, with the lime juice mixed in first. Pass it with chopped cilantro, chopped roasted peanuts, and wedges of lime to squeeze over.




Last year at this time I made A Late Winter Salad with Avocado.

Oh, here is that stray cookie recipe that almost got away! These are a traditional Italian cookie, and they are like glamorous and much more interesting Fig Newtons. The instructions are a bit detailed but really, they are probably easier than rolled and cut cookies. Make the filling, make the dough, wrap, slice, bake, eat. Perfect! They seem to be keeping pretty well too.

These are not the sweetest cookies ever. Some people brush a little glaze over them. I didn't but if you wanted to, just thin 1 cup of icing sugar with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and about a tablespoon of milk. Brush it on with a pastry brush, adding a little more milk if it stiffens up before you can get it onto them - that's a hint; you should work quickly.

72 cookies
1 hour 30 minutes prep time - plus1 hour chill time


Make the Filling:
1 cup chopped figs
1 cup raisins
1 cup mixed candied peel
the finely grated zest of 1 large navel orange
the juice of 1 large navel orange (about 2/3 cup)
1/3 cup rum or brandy
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Trim the stems from the figs, and chop the figs. Put them in a pot with the remaining filling ingredients, and bring them to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed - check carefully during the last few minutes. Let cool.

Put the filling into the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped and cohesive. Turn out into a bowl and set aside until needed.

Make the Dough:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups soft  (pastry) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract.

Mix the soda into the flour, then stir it into the butter and egg mixture. The dough will be quite stiff; at some point I find it easiest to abandon my spoon and mix the dough with my hands. Do not over-knead it, however. 

Wrap the dough in parchment or plastic and chill it for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough evenly into 3 parts. Roll out each section on parchment paper, to form a rectangle about the size of a piece of paper (8.5" x 11"). Trim and patch the dough to make it as neat a rectangle as possible. The dough is very putty-like, and will patch together nicely. When you have your rectangle, cut it in half across the longest way, to form 2 sections of about 4" x 11".

Divide the filling equally into 6 parts. Using wet hands, form one part into a long rope, the length of one of the pieces of dough, that is, 11". I do this on the parchment paper next to the rectangle of dough. I then use a thin metal icing spatula to loosen it and lift it onto the centre of the strip of dough. Use the spatula to loosen the dough from the parchment as well. Fold up the sides of the dough to form a tube around the filling, and transfer it to one of the prepared pans, seam-side down. Cut the filled tube of dough into 12 equal sections and spread them out, at least an inch apart in every direction.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, forming 6 filled tubes of dough in total. If the dough gets warm and sticky as you roll it out, you can sprinkle it and the rolling pin with a little icing sugar to help keep it dry. However, if it is too soft and warm for that to work you may need to return the dough to the fridge for a few minutes.

When you have half the cookies prepared and laid out on one of the baking sheets, bake them for 12 to 15 minutes until very lightly browned and firm. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Let cool and store in a tightly covered tin, in a cool spot.




Last year at this time I made Chai Honey Butter. 

I saw these cookies at An Expat Cooks, and being a fan of all things spumoni, I decided they had to go on the list for Christmas. Of course I fiddled, mostly by cutting the sugar in half (why do people use so much sugar? Nobody who has tried these thinks that the half-sugar version is anything but cookie-sweet.) I also upped the cherries and made them a fair bit smaller, although they didn't take much less time to bake.

To me, spumoni ought to have a mixed peel/tutti-frutti component to it, although modern versions frequently don't. (Yes I am officially old; I spend a lot of time whining about how everything has gotten woooooorse.)

And now I have to admit that actually I didn't put in any mixed peel, but only because I had intended to make the Rolled Spice Cookies which are full of it and I didn't want all my cookies tasting the same. Otherwise, for sure.

36 to 42 cookies
45 minutes - 30 minutes prep time


2 cups soft unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup dried cherries
OR 1/2 cup dried cherries
and 1/2 cup mixed peel

Measure the flour and mix in the baking powder and salt; set aside

Cream the butter and sugar until very light, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the almond and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, along with the chocolate chips, pistachios, dried cherries, and the mixed peel if using.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the prepared parchment paper, keeping the cookies 2 to 3 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until set on top and just starting to brown at the edges. Remove to a rack to cool.




Last year at this time I made Rum-Ball Bars. The cake has been baked for this years; they'll be made in the next day or so! Yes, I'm behind. What else is new.