Sweet Potato Gnocchi with chive and garlic sauce

What’s for dinner? Again? That’s a question that gets old fast! Anyway, last night I actually had an answer- sweet potato gnocchi with fresh chive and garlic cream sauce. It was actually very easy to put together, and with a spinach salad on the side, let’s just say everybody’s plate was clean.
Chive and Garlic Cream Sauce
Make this sauce first, so that when the gnocchi is cooked, you’ll be ready!
½ cup white wine
1 ½ cups 35% cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped – about half to ¾ cup
Salt, pepper, dried chilli flakes, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan (garnish)

1. Bring wine to boil in small saucepan, let reduce by half.
2. Bring cream to boil in medium size saucepan, add minced garlic, let reduce by half.
3. Add reduced wine to reduced cream, stir in chives, and season with salt, pepper, and chilli flakes. Pour over hot gnocchi, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve.
4. Accept the accolades of your family graciously. Don’t expect left-overs.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
1 sweet potato cooked, peeled, mashed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Generous grating of nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
Few grinds of black pepper
1 cup to 1 ¼ cup all purpose unbleached flour

1. Combine the cooked sweet potato with the ricotta cheese in a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, and then the eggs. Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in the flour, starting with just one cup. If the dough is sticky, stir in more flour, but if it feels fairly smooth and not sticky, dump it out onto a lightly floured counter, and gently knead two or three times.
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add a teaspoon of salt when it comes to the boil. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. With a sharp knife cut the dough into four pieces. Using both your hands gently roll the dough out into a long rope on your counter top, about half an inch in diameter. Cut the rope into pieces that are about half an inch long. They should look sort of like puffy little pillows. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. When you have all of the gnocchi cut, gently lower it into the boiling water. It is cooked when it floats up to the surface. Remove it from the boiling water with a slotted spoon.
5. Serve immediately with chive cream sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

Sunny Day on the Farm

It’s such a gorgeous day!
I love the sweet-fresh flavour of lime, and this is the time of year to perk up our tastebuds!
This is a fabulous recipe for Lime cheesecake that I originally published in Eat Drink magazine. Enjoy!
Lime Cheesecake with Lime curd topping

Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cup (375 mL)s gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, melted

Filling:
2 x 8 oz (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup (310 mL) granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 cup (500 mL) sour cream
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt
1/3 cup (75 mL) fresh lime juice

Lime curd topping:
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh lime juice
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, cut into cubes

1. Heat oven to 325 ° F (160° C). Spray a 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Place on baking sheet.
2. Make the crust. Combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter, and press into the bottom and just a little bit up the sides of the spring form pan. Place in oven and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool.
3. Meanwhile make the filling: with an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Beat in the sugar and the eggs. On low speed mix in the sour cream, salt and lime juice. When the filling is thoroughly mixed, pour onto the cooled crust. Keeping the spring form pan on a baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. The edges will just be starting to brown, and the center will be soft. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least six hours before serving.
4. Lime curd: whisk the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, and fresh lime juice in a stainless steel bowl until smooth. Place bowl over pot of simmering water, cook and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 12 minutes. Turn heat off. Add butter a few cubes at a time, stirring each piece into curd completely before adding more. Pour curd into a non-metallic bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool. Spread on top of cheesecake before serving. Garnish with wedges of fresh lime.

Green Garlic

Recipe make-over

Here’s one of my family’s favourite recipes that is going to be ‘made-over’ by the Heart and Stroke Health Check Program in April. Check out their website: www.healthcheck.org

Here is my recipe – that really needs a low fat make-over! Cream, butter, pastry – oh my!

CHICKEN IN PHYLLO PASTRY

3 cups (750 ml) cooked, boneless chicken, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1/4 cup (60 ml) butter

1 onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) dried thyme

1/4 cup (60 ml) flour

2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock

1/2 cup (125 ml) 35% cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

12 – 16 sheets phyllo pastry

1/2 – 1 cup (250 ml) butter, melted

1. To make the chicken filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until translucent. Meanwhile, blanch the celery and carrot pieces in boiling water until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Stir the dried thyme into the onion and butter mixture, then stir in the flour and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock, and let cook for about ten minutes, or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Finish by stirring in the cream, and letting it simmer for two or three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked chicken, celery, and carrots. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside in refrigerator to cool.
3. To assemble the chicken in phyllo, you must first have a large, clear work surface. Have your melted butter and a pastry brush ready. Open the phyllo package and lay out the whole stack of phyllo sheets. Take one sheet off the top, and lay it on your work surface, with the short side closest to you. Cover the sheets that you are not using right now with a slightly damp tea towel. Brush melted butter over the entire surface of the one phyllo sheet. Then, lay another sheet of phyllo on top of the first. Once again, brush with butter. Repeat this two more times, to eventually have a stack of four sheets of phyllo. With a sharp knife, slice this stack of phyllo sheets down the middle, lengthwise. You now have two lengths of phyllo dough. Place a scoop of the cooled chicken filling on the bottom quarter of each length of dough. You are now going to fold this into a triangle shape. Take the bottom right hand corner of the dough and fold it over the chicken filling, to form a triangle. Then, fold from the bottom left corner, lifting the chicken filling along with this fold, and forming another triangle. Keep on folding until you have reached the top of the length of phyllo. It won’t be perfect (at least, mine wasn’t). Place the bundles on a baking sheet, preferably one that is lined with parchment. Brush the tops of each bundle with more melted butter. Set aside, and repeat this procedure until the entire chicken filling has been used.
4. Heat the oven to 375° F (190°C). Bake the chicken in phyllo for 20-25 minutes, until the phyllo is golden brown and the filling is piping hot.
5. Makes six to eight phyllo bundles.

Quick Maple Syrup Raisin buns

Even though our own children are teenagers, I look forward to March Break. Years ago when they were very young, my husband bought some second-hand maple syrup buckets, lids and spiles from our local TSC store. He took the girls on a wintery walk into our bush and they tapped five trees. How fabulous it was to see the sap dripping for the first time. After a couple of days the buckets were full. We boiled it down on our woodstove for about twenty-four hours, and made our first home-made maple syrup. We’ve been doing it ever since and we get about six to eight liters each year, which is enough to last us through to the next maple syrup season. I love the process for making maple syrup, it’s so Canadian. I find that kids get the most engaged with their food when they have participated in the process, and maple syrup is a prime example.

Quick Maple Syrup Raisin Buns

Biscuit dough:
2 cup (500 mL) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) salt
1 tablespoon (15 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) baking soda
2 tablespoon (30 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, cubed
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
1 egg

Filling:
2 tablespoon (30 mL) melted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon (10 mL) cinnamon
1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins
1/2 cup (125 mL) maple syrup
1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter for pan

• Heat oven to 375 °F (190 °C). Butter an 8 inch square pan with one tablespoon of butter.
• Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and granulated sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add egg to buttermilk and beat with a fork. Add all at once to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and forms a moist dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter, and dump out dough onto counter. Gently knead it 3-4 times. Sprinkle a little bit more flour on the counter if needed and on rolling pin, and roll out dough into a rectangle, about one centimeter thick.
• Brush dough with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Roll dough up into a log, and with a sharp knife, slice it into nine even circles. Pour maple syrup into prepared pan, tilting pan to spread out syrup evenly. Lay buns, cut side down, into pan. Place pan in hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Buns will be puffed and browned. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and invert pan onto a plate. Let pan sit upside down for a couple of minutes to catch any excess syrup. Remove pan and let buns cool for as long as you can stand it. Best eaten the same day.
• Makes nine buns. See how long they last.

originally posted (by Christine) on EcoLiving London blog – check it out at:

http://www.ecolivinglondon.org/

Cooking with Tea

A couple of Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of teaching a cooking class at the Covent Garden Market, hosted by The Tea Haus. We had a delicious time! Here are the recipes I did, and a few photos. You should really come along next time!

Local Corn and Pepper Soup with Green Tea

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 red or orange pepper, diced

2 cups green tea, steeped for about 3 minutes.

3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)

1/2 cup fresh edamame (green soybeans)

1 Tablespoon tamari soy sauce

2 Tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (sometimes I add a dash of cayenne pepper as well)

Sourcream for garnish

Halved cherry tomatoes for garnish

Method:

• Heat oil in a good size saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, jalapeno, red pepper. Cook and stir another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tea to the pot, bring to the boil, then add the corn and edamame. Lower heat and let soup simmer for another 3 minutes or so.
• Stir in tamari, parsley, cilantro, season to taste with salt and pepper (and cayenne if more heat is desired). If soup seems too thick, add a bit of water.
• Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream and half a cherry tomato.
• Serves four-six.

Kukicha Tea Crust Pizza with Pesto

Ingredients for crust:

1 cup brewed kukicha tea, warm

1 teaspoon traditional yeast

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup all purpose flour

Method:

• In a table top mixer, combine the warm tea with the yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt and 1 ½ cups flour. Mic with the dough hook for a few minutes. When it is well blended, add in the remaining 1 cup flour, and beat with the dough hook for another 2-3 minutes, until it comes away from the edges of the bowl.
• Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1 hour.

Basil Pesto

4 cups (1 l) packed basil leaves

6 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) olive oil

1 teaspoon (5 ml) sea salt (optional)

1-2 cup (500 ml) Parmesan cheese

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil leaves with the garlic and process until smooth. Add the salt and continue to process. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil, and the finally add the cheese. Scoop into clean jars. Refrigerate up to two weeks, or freeze.

Seasonal Pizza Toppings

Caramelized onions

Roasted garlic

Roasted peppers

Grilled eggplant and zucchini

Tomatoes

Herbs

Arugula

Local mozzarella cheese, shredded

Local goat cheese

And whatever your imagination will allow…!

To assemble and cook pizza:

1. Heat oven to 400 ° F. Oil a pizza pan.
2. Flop pizza dough out of bowl onto pizza pan. With your hands squish pizza dough to sides of pan. This dough is very soft and workable, it does not need to be kneaded, and will only fight back if over-worked.
3. Spread crust with pesto (you will have left-over pesto)
4. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, then other toppings of choice.
5. Place in hot oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.
6. Makes one big pizza.

Local Apples Baked in Kenya Tea Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Kenya black tea leaves brewed in 1 cup boiling water for 1 minute.

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

8 local apples, peeled, cored, quartered

1 package (200 grams) Skor toffee bits (a heaping cup)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

6 Tablespoons flour

1/4 cup butter, cut into cubes

Ice cream or whipped cream or plain yogourt for serving (optional)

Method:

• Heat oven to 375 ° F.
• Strain tea. Discard tea leaves. Stir maple syrup into the tea, set aside.
• Layer apples in pan, pour tea and maple syrup mixture over all. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, combine the Skor bits with the pecans and flour. Work in the butter with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of apples. Place pan in oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and hot.
• Remove from oven. Let sit for several minutes before serving. Really delicious served with London Ice Cream’s Acadian Vanilla ice cream.
• Serves eight.

What’s for dinner?

OK, basically this never ending humidity has drained me of any desire to cook, but then, at our Saturday market there were a few items that I just had to pick up, and I will cook them up for dinner tonight. The first item that I decided on was a luscious rib-eye ELK steak. This will be the first time I cook elk, but because it is so lean I’ll have to be careful not to over-cook it. I’m going to make an easy marinade for it (soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, sriracha chili sauce, and a small amount of oil). I am going to grill it and serve it with some maitaki mushrooms that I purchased form Soiled Reputation. I’ll saute them with a bit of butter and fresh juicy garlic from our garden. I’ll serve all this with some of our gorgeous organic potatoes (blue, yellow & red) and green beans, also in season now. All pretty simple, but I just know that those flavours will sing!

Here it is – all layed out on a platter. It tasted as good as it looks! Of course I didn’t tell anybody they were eating elk until all the lip smacking was done.

For dessert I made a blueberry and nectarine ‘buckle’ on the BBQ, served it with vanilla ice cream. mmm. Who needs to go out for dinner?

Chickens and Tomatoes

Here’s a little story. As you may know, our farm is pretty big, so instead of walking 10 acres to get an herb or a tomato for dinner, I have a very small garden beside my kitchen, which has tarragon, mint, basil, lemon verbena, sage, parsley, more mint, even more mint (I think it is taking over) and some savoury in it. Oh yes, it has quite a few weeds as well. Anyway, this year I planted 3 heritage tomato plants as well, that I bought from City Farm at our Covent Garden Farmers’ Market. The plants have been quite spectacular, big strong, vibrant plants. I think it is because I gave them a good dose of organic composted fertilizer that I bought from Annelid Cycle, who also was at our market this spring. As you can imagine, I have been waiting quite impatiently for those tomatoes to ripen, and then the other day – lo and behold I saw some red peaking through the dense green foliage. I dashed over to check on my precious tomatoes – planning a ‘celebration of the tomato dinner’ in my mind – the chickens came dashing our from under the plants (they love cooling off in the shade of the plants), and I saw that all that remained of the tomatoes was the stem end that was still connected to the plant – the remainder had been pecked away for somebody’s afternoon snack.

Perhaps you are wondering why we didn’t have barbecued chicken for supper that night? Ahh, the eggs make all these little ‘situations’ worth it. I’ll just have to walk a bit further for my tomatoes (again) this summer.

Here’s a yummy way to use some of your own heritage tomatoes. Grilled chicken strips would be a nice addition! (sshhh, don’t tell the chickens I said that!)

Grilled Bruschetta

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil

2 cloves garlic, halved

2 large vine ripened tomatoes, seeded and finely diced

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch fresh basil leaves sliced into thin strips

Pinch sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional garnish)

• Heat the barbecue to medium.
• Combine the diced tomatoes with the 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil, basil, and salt. Set aside.
• Brush the slices of baguette on each side with the 1/2 cup (125 ml) of olive oil. Grill them on each side, turning down the heat if necessary. When the bread is grilled, rub each slice with the cut garlic, and then top with the tomatoes mixture while bread is still warm. Grind some pepper over top, and Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Avalanche

Oh yes, it’s that time of year – we have green zucchini, yellow zucchini, and paddy pans coming out our ying yang. What to do with all of these delicious summer squash…

Here are a few ideas: Make a cake, loaf or muffins – see recipes below!

Teresa (who I work with at the market) makes grilled zucchini pizzas – she grills sliced zucchini or paddy pans that have been brushed with olive oil for the base of the ‘pizza’, and then puts on the pizza toppings – anything you like pepperoni, cheese, pizza sauce. I love feta, tomatoes and basil- but why not make up your own combination?

I also love the simple grilled flavour of zucchini with lots of garlic and onions. mmm.

Some folks at the market have told me they have even put grated zucchini into brownies to make them extra moist. I think it is worth a try!

Here are the recipes as promised!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/2 cup (500 ml) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (125 ml) cocoa powder

2 1/2 tsp (12.5 ml) baking powder

1 1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk

2 cup (500 ml) granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 cup (500 ml) zucchini, grated

2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp (45 ml) orange zest, minced

Glaze:

1 1/2 cup (500 ml) icing sugar

3-4 Tbsp (45-60 ml) orange juice

• Heat oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.
• In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, and sugar with the eggs. Stir in the zucchini, vanilla, and orange zest. Pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just to combine. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan, and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling on a rack.
• Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar and orange juice for the glaze, and when the cake is cool, pour over top.
• Makes one bundt cake.

Nutty Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

1/2 cup (125 ml) plain yogourt

2 cups (500 ml) zucchini, grated

1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla

1 Tbsp (15 ml) orange zest, minced

3 cups (750 ml) all purpose flour

1 tsp (5 ml) salt

1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder

1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch nutmeg

1 cup (250 ml) pecans, chopped

Glaze:

1 cup (250 ml) icing sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp (45 ml) orange juice

• Heat oven to 350° F (180° C). Spray two loaf pans with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs with the sugar, oil, yogourt, zucchini, vanilla, and orange zest. In another larger bowl, sift the flour together with the salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the pecans. Make a well in the centre, and stir in the egg/ sugar mixture. Stir just until everything is combined. Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans, smooth out the top of the batter, and place loaf pans in oven. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour. Check to make sure the loaf is cooked by sticking a toothpick in the centre, and checking to see that no wet batter sticks to it. When cooked, let cool in pans set on racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool thoroughly.
• Make glaze by stirring the icing sugar together with the orange juice until smooth. Spread on top of loaves, letting it drip down the sides.
• Makes two loaves.

Summery Recipes

I put these favourite recipes together for a summer taping for Roger’s TV. So delicious!

To make it a full meal, I also grilled a bison burger, spread it with roasted garlic and local goat cheese. I topped it all with arugula from our farm, and a couple of slices of hothouse tomatoes from the St. Thomas area! Dig in!

Warm Potato Salad with Tarragon Dressing

This recipe is a ‘keeper’ for barbecue season. It can be served with the potatoes hot right off the barbecue, or it can sit for a while and be served at room temperature. Either way, the tarragon gives the dish a fullness of flavour that is rich and satisfying.

24 small new white potatoes

1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Salt

1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) freshly ground pepper

DRESSING:

1 Tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh tarragon

1 Tbsp (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp (15 ml) Balsamic vinegar

1 tsp (5 ml) Liquid honey

1 shallot, minced

1 small clove garlic, minced

Pinch salt and pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

• Wash potatoes, cut in half, and mix together with the vegetable oil, garlic, jalapeno peppers, salt and pepper, wrap in foil and place over medium heat on barbecue for approximately 45 minutes, or roast in a 375 degree F (180 degree C) oven for 1/2 hour – 45 minutes (or until tender).
• In large bowl, assemble dressing ingredients. When potatoes are cooked, add to dressing, stir gently to coat, season to taste, and serve warm or at room temperature.

RHUBARB LEMONADE

8 cups chopped rhubarb

3 cups (750 ml) granulated sugar

3 tbsp (45 ml) grated lemon rind

1 1/2 cup (375 ml) fresh lemon juice

• In large saucepan, stir together 3 cups (750 ml) water, rhubarb, sugar, and lemon rind; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and rhubarb breaks up, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Strain through fine sieve, pressing out liquid. Let cool. To serve, add 3 part water to one part syrup; serve over ice. Makes about 20 servings.

Crepes with Summer Berries

1 cup (250 mL) flour

1 Tablespoon (15 mL) granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 (330 mL) milk

1 Tablespoon (15 mL) melted butter

Filling:

3 cup (750 mL) mixed summer berries, washed

2 cup (500 mL) whipped 35% cream, sweetened with about 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or to taste)

• Measure flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and melted butter into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to another container, cover and refrigerate for 2-24 hours before using.
• To make crepes, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour about ¼ cup (60 ml) batter into the pan, and swirl the pan around so the batter evenly coats the bottom. Cook until the edges look brown. Flip the crepe, and cook for another few seconds, to quickly finish the cooking. Transfer to a plate while you make the remaining crepes.
• Makes about 12 crepes. Any extras can be wrapped well and frozen.

To assemble the crepes:

Lay out the crepes on your work surface. Divide the fresh fruit between the crepes, roll them up. Serve with a generous scoop of whipped cream on the side. Garnish with a sprig of lemon verbena or mint.