Preserving the Harvest...Prairie Style

Our summers are short but wonderful. The days are hot, the skies are blue and the sweet smell of gardens and fields fills the air. I have a little garden but it is mostly herbs, rhubarb and a few tomatoes for the table. I buy at the Farmers' Market to enjoy that summer flavour.

I grew up in a home where we traditionally preserved B.C. fruit, garden vegetables, butchered meats and freshly caught northern lake fish for the winter. I always wished we had a cold room. Even as a young person in high school I was intensely interested in fresh local food and foraging for berries and other edibles.

Farm life back then assured us that we would have all that.

This year I am preserving a few things. I don't use a lot but I cannot help myself when I see the beautiful stone fruits, pickling cucumbers and local berries. These can be the beginning of an even greater meal. A little black currant jam added to pan juices of a roast duck takes the sauce to the next level. Apricot jam has varied applications in the baking world. This is my justification for adding to my cold room collection.

In addition to these recipes, I have blanched and frozen green beans. Saskatoon berries are in the freezer. I have cured fresh garlic from Anna at The Garlic Garden in Yorkton. Last year I had her fresh garlic throughout the winter and up until the new harvest. I keep it in a basket that I hang on the wall of my cold room. I buy potatoes to store in the cold room. Now I wish I had a root cellar! One day.

This fall or early winter I do expect that I will be gifted some wild pheasant. Last year was my first time plucking and cleaning pheasant! I was sorely unprepared but a quick lesson from the hunter set me in the right direction. Pheasant makes the loveliest clear consommé.

I had a lot of hot peppers from the market that I could not eat quickly so I have pickled them. They will be great in sandwiches. Yum.
 

Apricot Jam

This is a simple recipe but just bursting with flavour. It has quickly become my favourite jam for toast.

8 c. coarsely chopped apricots

4 c. sugar

1 c. honey

juice and grated peel of 1 orange

1/8 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently until thick, about 30 minutes. Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims thoroughly. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (or more depending upon altitude). Yield: about 8 cups.

Chokecherry Jelly   recipe from Bernardin

When I was a teenager we would drive to the hills and seek out locations where we might score a good amount of chokecherries. They have a unique puckery flavour that translates well into jelly, jam and syrup. I could never get the recipe right back then. They have no natural pectin and there was no real recipe. The farm women just knew how to make it. I should have planted myself in my favourite cook's kitchen and documented her recipe. Regrets!

This produced a very soft jelly. I see there is no lemon juice in the recipe. Next time I would add 2 tbsp. bottled lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice has a consistent acidity level as compared to the fresh fruit that can vary.

12 cups (3000 ml) chokecherries
3 cups (750 ml) water 
6 1/2 cups (1875 ml) granulated sugar
2 pouches (170 ml) BERNARDIN® Liquid Pectin


Wash and remove stems from fruit. Combine with water in a stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour prepared mixture into dampened jelly bag or cheese cloth-lined sieve suspended over a deep container. Let drip to collect juice. For quicker results, squeeze bag; juice may be cloudy.

Measure 3 cups (750 ml) chokecherry juice into a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Stir in sugar and 1/2 tsp (2 ml) butter or vegetable oil to reduce foaming. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Stirring constantly, boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Immediately stir in Liquid Pectin, mixing well. Skim foam. Ladle into prepared jelly jars and water bath process. Makes about 6 - 250 mL jars.

Bread 'n Butter Pickles   recipe from Bernardin

Last week after the Market ended a man from one of the Hutterite colonies gave me 3 bags of pickling cucumbers. How could I refuse?

My mother always made bread 'n butter pickles. We loved them. I have never tried making them until now. I cannot ever remember her looking at a recipe book and she always sang while she made them. Slicing cucumbers give a lot of time for reflection and I realized that this simple act of making pickles formed a connection with my mother that was never possible when she was alive. She suffered with schizophrenia most of my life. Relationships were not her strength.

6 1/2 lb (3 kg) pickling cucumbers

1 lb. (454 gm) onions, sliced 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) thick

1/3 c. (75 mL) pickling salt

5 c. ( 1250 mL) white vinegar

1 1/4 c. (300 mL) white sugar

1/2 c. (125 mL) pickling spice

2 tbsp. ( 30 mL) celery seed

2 tsp. (10 mL) ground ginger

1 tsp. (5 mL) ground turmeric

Slice unpeeled washed cucumbers 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) thick, discard ends. In a large glass or stainless steel container, layer cucumbers and onions, lightly sprinkling each layer with salt. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Combine vinegar, sugar, pickling spice, celery seed, ginger and turmeric in a large stainless steel saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently 15 minutes.

Drian vegetables, add to pickling liquid. Mix well. Return mixture to a boil.

Yield – 7 x 500 mL jars

Hot Cucumber Relish   

Three bags are a lot of cucumbers. I needed to make something else. This recipe for cucumber relish looked good and might be nice on hotdogs and hamburgers. We have a block party coming up. I will test this on my neighbours!

7 c. peeled, finely chopped cucumbers

3 c. finely chopped red peppers

1 c. finely chopped hot banana peppers

2 c. finely chopped green peppers

1 c. finely chopped onion

2 c. finely chopped celery

1/2 c. pickling salt

2 1/4 c. sugar

3 c. white vinegar

3 tbsp. celery seed

3 tbsp. mustard seed

Combine prepared measured cucumbers, red peppers, hot peppers, green peppers, onion and celery with pickling salt in a large glass or stainless steel container. Cover and let stand 4 hours.

Drain vegetable mixture through cheesecloth lined sieve. Rinse with water, drain again squeezing out excess liquid.

Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed and mustard in a large stainless steel sauce pan. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables. Stirring frequently, return to a bil and boil gently 10 minutes.

Yield: about 6 - 500 mL jars.

This is my contribution this month for The Canadian Food Experience Project, the brainchild of Valerie at A Canadian Foodie. This is the 5th edition of a yearlong project. You can find posts from other  participants here.

Pickled Peppers recipe can be found here

My previous posts in this challenge can be found here -

My Earliest Memory of Canadian Food
Regional Canadian Food - SW Saskatchewan 
Local Food Heroes 
My Cherished Canadian Recipe - Saskatoon Berry Pie 

The Skinny on Fats and Oils

 

The newly released Obesity in Canada report announces that one in four Canadians are obese. Now is the time to talk about fats.

Dietary fats are given a lot of bad press. It is true they have twice as many calories as proteins and carbohydrates but they carry and allow the absorption of essential nutrients such as Vitamins A, D, and E. Fats also provide a feeling of satisfying your hunger. You need fats in your diet but it is important to monitor the amount and quality. The amount of fat you require depends upon your age.

Fats are categorized as unsaturated, saturated and trans. Unsaturated are the healthiest and trans fats are the least desirable. The two main types of unsaturated fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Vegetable oil, nuts and seeds and avocados fall into the category of monounsaturated. Fish, fish oils, some nuts and seeds and some vegetable oils are polyunsaturated. These oils provide essential omega-3 and -6 fatty acids.

Saturated fat, which raises LDL or bad cholesterol, is found in animal foods like beef, chicken, lamb, pork and veal, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils, dairy products like butter, cheese and whole milk, lard and shortening.

Trans fat is made from a chemical process known as partial hydrogenation as liquid oil is made into a solid fat. Saturated and trans fats have been shown to raise LDL which increases your risk for heart disease. Unlike saturated fat, trans fat also lowers HDL or good cholesterol. A low level of HDL cholesterol is also a risk factor for heart disease.

According to Health Canada you can lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease by replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats. 

Until recently, most of the trans fat found in a typical Canadian diet came from hard margarines, commercially fried foods, and bakery products. Our food supply is rapidly changing and the trans fat content of many of these products has now been reduced. It is still important to look at the Nutrition Facts label to make sure the food product you are buying has little or no trans fat.

The best way to watch your fat intake is to read labels. Read the Nutrition Facts label to choose and compare foods when shopping. Choose to cook leaner cuts of meat, skinless chicken and turkey. Buy fish every week. Choose low fat dairy products. Choose soft margarines that are low in saturated and trans fat.  Buy fewer prepackaged foods and meals. Buy vegetables, fruit and whole grain products with no added fat. Serve meat alternatives like beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and tofu.

Use vegetable oils in small amounts for stir frying or sautéing. A teaspoon is usually enough. Heat oil before frying to prevent the food from soaking up the oil. Fill a spray bottle with vegetable oil to spray your pans instead of greasing. Make your own salad dressing. Add balsamic, rice wine or other vinegars. Flavour with lemon juice, dry or Dijon mustard, garlic and herbs.

When eating out, check the nutrition information of menu items before you order and ask for gravy, sauces and salad dressings on the side. Order smaller portions or share with someone. I often take my own container and remove excess food from my plate before I begin eating to ensure that I do not overeat.

Your two decisions in selecting a fat or oil for cooking are flavour and smoke point. Smoke point is the temperature at which fat breaks down into glycerol and fatty acids, smoke is produced and the nutrition and flavour deteriorate. The normal temperature of deep frying is 375F (190C).

Neutral flavoured oils like grapeseed, safflower, and canola have high smoke points and are ideal for pan and deep frying. Peanut oil has the highest smoke point but some people may have an allergy.

Flavoured fats for pan frying include olive oil, clarified butter, goose and duck fat. Rendered goose and duck fat are liquid at room temperature and are considered to be healthy choices.

In addition to frying and cooking, oils are used for drizzling. They are used in salad dressings, with roasted vegetables, cooked fish, grains or crusty bread. Nut and seed oils like walnut, hazelnut or sesame impart their distinctive flavours. Use sparingly. They are bursting with flavour and are expensive.

Flavoured oils fall into the same category as drizzling oils. An olive oil or a neutral tasting oil can be flavoured with truffles, lemons, herbs, and exotic mushrooms.

Less healthy fat choices include tallow or suet, lard and bacon fat. There is controversy with coconut oil. It is deemed to be the new healthiest fat but there is no solid scientific evidence to ascertain this. It is 86% saturated fat but devotees claim that the fatty acid chains are shorter and therefore healthier.

In my kitchen, extra virgin olive oil remains my favourite. It falls into both the drizzling and the cooking categories. I use it because it’s a healthy oil, high in monounsaturated fats and trace nutrients. I use it because it is the traditional oil used in the Mediterranean cuisines I love.

I also like duck fat. It is high in unsaturated fats and closer to olive oil than butter in composition. And I use butter.

In the end, moderation is always key. Limit your intake of fats, especially saturated and trans fats. You need to match the fat to the cooking method and flavour. Each type of fat has its own special qualities.

Fat                                                Type                                    Smoke Point

Butter                                       Saturated                         350F (177C)

Butter (Ghee), clarified            Saturated                         375-485F  (190-250C)

Canola Oil                                Monounsaturated            400F (204C)

Coconut Oil                              Saturated                         350F (170C)

Corn Oil                                    Polyunsaturated              450F (232C)

Grapeseed Oil                           Polyunsaturated              392F (200C)

Hazelnut Oil                              Monounsaturated            430F (221C)

Lard                                           Saturated                        370F (182C)

Olive Oil                                    Monounsaturated           Extra Virgin  320F (160C)

      Virgin  420F (216C)

      Extra Light 468F (242C)

Peanut Oil                                    Monounsaturated          450F (232C)

Safflower Oil                               Polyunsaturated            450F (232C)

Vegetable Shortening                  Saturated                        360F (182C)

Sunflower Oil                              Polyunsaturated            450F (232C)

Vegetable Oil                               Polyunsaturated            varies

Duck Fat                                    49% polyunsaturated       375F (190C)           

How to Render Duck Fat

Take the skin and fat from duck, avoiding the tail and neck areas. 

Cut skin and fat into medium sized pieces and put into heavy bottomed pot. Add water to cover and simmer over medium heat until water has evaporated and the skin pieces are crisp and have released their fat. That may take about 2 hours. Be careful not to burn.

Strain the clear golden fat through a sieve or coffee filter.  Store fat in a sealed container in refrigerator or freezer.

Cuban Style Beef and Peppers

Welcome everyone to my dinner party! It is my turn to host the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club and I have chosen a Cuban Dinner theme.

Cuban food has a rich history. It was the first and last Spanish colony in the Caribbean. In addition to Spanish influences there are flavours from Africa, Portugal and various indigenous cultures.

Cuban food at is heart is simple, country cooking. Meal times are family times and each celebration features traditional home cooked meals.

Many Cubans have sought refuge in the United States and Florida in particular. It was no surprise that the best Cuban food I have ever had was in Orlando. I visited Cuba several years ago and although the restaurants were charming and quaint, the supply of fresh food and ingredients was limited. We dined at the DuPont Mansion and Al Capone's seaside villa. There was no lack of fascinating dinner venues.

So I have invited everyone to make some Cuban food today. I am preparing the main course with Cuban Style Beef and Peppers. I decided to use brown basmati rice rather than white rice. Lots of black beans here! Please check these wonderful dishes from the team -

Sandi –Whistlestop Café Cooking  with Black Bean Soup

Jerry- Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants   with Cuban Black Bean Dip

Val - More Than Burnt Toast  with Black Beans and Rice

Susan Linquist –The Spice Garden  with Arroz con Dolce

Cuban Style Beef and Peppers

 

    1/4 cup raisins

    1/4 cup hot water

    1 pound flank steak

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    3 cups thinly sliced onion

    1 cup yellow bell pepper strips

    1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

    2 garlic cloves, minced

    1 tablespoons capers

    1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

    1 teaspoon ground cumin

    3 plum tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges

    4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
    salt and pepper to taste

    Combine raisins and hot water in a small bowl.  Let stand 30 minutes.

    Trim fat from steak, and cut steak into thin strips.

    Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Add steak and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until beef is browned. Add raisin mixture, capers, thyme, jalapeno, cumin and tomatoes. Reduce heat; simmer 7 minutes or until steak is done, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

    Calories: 562

    Calories from fat: 30%

    Fat: 18.5g

    Saturated fat: 5.6g

    Monounsaturated fat: 9.6g

    Polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g

    Protein: 29g

    Carbohydrate: 69.6g

    Fiber: 4.3g

    Cholesterol: 57mg

    Iron: 5.6mg

    Sodium: 466mg

    Calcium: 67mg

Cooking Light

JUNE 1999

Drive in the Country Saskatchewan

Was there a castle on this lot?

This past weekend there was a Highway #1 Artist's tour. Several galleries opened their doors all down the road from Swift Current. It was a nice day to take a drive. As usual, I wish I had taken more pictures. This is all I have.

This secret garden was a delightful find in a village. It begs for more research and find the significance.

Concrete walk up to...the house?

Stone fence all around.

It appears to be a lovely lot where a house was once situated. Now it is a lovingly cared for garden.

UPDATE:   Mystery Solved

The town of Herbert has a wonderful website. I don't know why I didn't try that first. Thanks to Nana and Anonymous for encouraging me to find more info.  Here it is:

H.M. Klassen House - 420 Herbert Avenue (Castle Yard) - A beautiful house was built here for the H.M. Klassens in the early 1900s. It was traded to Senator William Sharpe in 1920, and then sold to Dr. Bejamin Funk and renovated to become Herbert's First hospital in 1923. the hospital burned down in 1925. The "Holme's Castle" was built on this property by Tom Holmes in 1933. The Nursing home owned the property for a time an it now is owned privately.

The Best Lamb Burger Ever

Last Sunday was the first ever block party for my street. Some residents have lived on this block for 50 years. So hats of to neighbour Hannah for getting this going.

It was great. Odd house numbers brought salads and even numbers brought desserts. We have way more odd numbers so we had a lot of salad choices. And no repeats. How does that always work?

We each bring something to barbecue and my big decision was what do I make for myself? My first stop was the freezer. Emptying the freezer is on the agenda before purchasing more food. A lone bag of ground lamb was the answer.

This is Black Welsh lamb and is ever so flavourful. I am choosing to use only salt and pepper so the beauty of this meat is not masked. Mint pesto will compliment the flavour perfectly.

This burger is simple and delicious. At the party I served it on foccacia with a thick slice of heirloom tomato and a thin slice of red onion. Oh, yes, and with the homemade mint pesto. The real trick to take it to the next level is to hide baby bocconcino inside the burger. This cheese melts like a dream.

Best Lamb Burger Ever
1 lb. ground lamb
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Baby bocconcino
Foccacia
Mint pesto

Season ground lamb with salt and pepper. As you shape the burgers, hide the bocconcino inside. Grill as usual. Spread the bottom of the foccacia bun with mint pesto. Top with burger and layer on sliced tomato and red onion. Top with foccacia and serve.

Mint Pesto 

1 c. (packed) fresh mint leaves
1/2 c. (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
2 tbsp. pine nuts
2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, peeled
1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1/2 c. (or more) extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth. Serve. Can be refrigerated for up to 4 weeks in covered container.

Wild Mushroom Soup

A week or two back I showed off some mushrooms that I foraged from my neighbour's front yard. They were shaggy parasols. In this soup they are very meaty and tasty. I must add that I have never foraged for mushrooms...ever. I admit a bit of intrepidation to cook them. Even though I was 99% sure the mushrooms were indeed shaggy parasols and edible when cooked, that lingering 1% can weigh on your mind. To satisfy myself and my neighbour friend who shared these gems, I ate a full bowl of this soup first. Fortunately I reported no ill effects. Phew!

This soup is very thick and you may want to thin it with more stock. I think that a tablespoon or two would make a nice addition to risotto. Adding a touch of heavy cream or creme fraiche turns it into a cream soup.

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving in 2000 and loved it. The bonus is that it freezes well.

This recipe is adapted from The New Basics cookbook by Julee Rosse & Sheila Lukins

Wild Mushroom Soup
1/2 c. sherry or madeira
2 - 3 c. chicken broth
3 leeks, well rinsed and dried
1 onion
1/4 c. unslated butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 c. beef stock
1 lb. wild mushrooms
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
creme fraiche or heavy cream
fresh herbs such as chives or thyme for garnish

Dice leeks, white part only, and onion and cook over medium heat in butter until soft. Add roughly chopped mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle with flour. stir and cook 5 minutes.

Add chicken stock and beef stock. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked. Cool. Puree in batches in a food processor. Return to pan to reheat and serve. Serve with garnish of creme fraiche or heavy cream and fresh herbs.

Freezes well.