Ollie's Yummy In Your Tummy

Zucchini & Bell Pepper Medley With Feta Cheese

2011-12-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

My Medley Dish

I found a recipe on Martha Stewart which became the basis of this dish. I liked the idea behind Martha's recipe but it used Eggplant (which I'm allergic to) and Bell Peppers.

So I decided to do some tweaking, make some changes and see if I could come up with a dish I liked. Hubs, who isn't fond of zucchini, really liked this!

Zucchini - you need about one per person

Bell Peppers - orange, red and yellow. I used only orange for this photo. One pepper will do for 2 people.

Feta Cheese - I used Italian Flavoured Feta Cheese so it had some really nice Italian seasoning in it. You need approximately 1/2 cup for 4 people

Marinade: Kosher Salt & Olive Oil

Topping: Fresh or Home-Grown Dried Marjoram, Lemon Juice, Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Method for 4 Servings: Slice 4 zucchini into rounds. Put the slices into a plastic bag with a bit of olive oil (about 1/3 cup) and some kosher salt and shake. Make sure the zucchini is coated on both sides. Remove from bag and place on grill or rack for broiling.

Core two peppers and remove seeds. Slice each pepper into 8 strips. Coat those in the bag of olive oil and kosher salt. Add more oil and salt if needed. Place on grill or rack for broiling.

Grill or broil the vegetables for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. I broiled mine but they didn't brown up as much as I wanted so I finished them in a skillet.

When the vegetables are ready, place the zucchini on a platter, then arrange the pepper strips on top. Top everything with the crumbled Italian flavoured Feta Cheese.

Next combine 1/4 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and juice from one lemon. Drizzle it over top of the zucchini, peppers and Feta Cheese. Fresh marjoram finishes the dish off.

Serve this warm (not hot) as a side dish. We tried it at room temperature too but prefer it warm. We liked this dish so much that I'm going to serve it at my annual Family Christmas Dinner which I'm hosting in January.

Healthy Hearty Minestrone Soup

2011-10-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Minestrone Soup ready to eat!

I love Minestrone Soup, but haven't made it in years. Recently I found a new recipe for this yummy and hearty soup, so after trying it and making changes as I always do, here it is for my readers.

This is amazing soup, so thick and healthy and scrumptious that I know you're going to love it. I serve it with homemade biscuits for a really filling lunch or supper.

I like to prepare this soup in stages. I usually prep everything first, sometimes I do that a day ahead so that I can start cooking first thing the next morning.

Ingredients List
1 cup red or white kidney beans. I use canned which I drain.
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 chicken bouillion cube and 8 cups leftover vegetable water or 8 cups chicken stock
1/4 package of bacon, cut into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, coarse chopped
2 carrots, cut diagonally
2 stalks celery, cut diagonally
2 zucchini, coarse chopped
1 can lentils, drained. You can mash them or leave them whole, your choice
half a small cabbage, either shredded or coarse chopped
1 28-oz can tomatoes, mashed (I use the ones with Italian spices added)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp fine herbes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup rotini
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

First Stage

Vegetable Water with Chicken Bouillion Powder

Make the chicken stock if you don't have any in your freezer. I use my saved and frozen leftover vegetable water and 1 to 2 chicken bouillion cubes.

Your vegetable water doesn't have to be completely defrosted. Here you see that I have partially defrosted mine in my microwaves and then I toss it into my soup pot along with an evelope of chicken bouillion powder

Onion and Bacon in frypan

Second Stage

Saute the bacon and onions in the olive oil until the onions are soft - about 5 minutes.

Add to the 8 cups of stock.

Add the drained kidney beans to stock.

Bring to boil and simmer for about one hour.

Third Stage

End of Stage 2, Ready for Stage 3

Add the chopped cabbage, carrots, celery, zucchini, drained lentils, bay leaf, all spices, and tomatoes. Bring to boil and simmer another 20-30 minutes.

Fourth Stage

Now you have to decide how much, if any, you are going to freeze. Put what you want to freeze in your freezer containers and mark on them that you still need to add the pasta and cook for another 10 minutes.

Any that you are going to eat right away, you can now add your pasta and simmer for another 10 minutes.

When ready, dish up in bowls and shake about 1 tsp parmesan cheese on top. Serve with garlic bread, rolls or biscuits.

Stage 3 is ready to simmer

Spaghetti Squash Casserole a la Ollie

2011-09-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti Squash Casserole a la Ollie

A Facebook friend, Melissa Corley, has a blog called Freezer Full which I enjoy reading. She made a spaghetti squash casserole a few days ago and it got me thinking about how I might create a recipe that hubs and I could eat and that would use up some leftovers.

Missy's sounded yummy but it had pesto sauce which can't eat and zebra tomatoes which hubs hates. So I came up with a version that used up some leftover goat's milk cheese in my fridge, and had ingredients hubs will eat and I'm not allergic to.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole a la Ollie

Take one spaghetti squash and poke it with holes then microwave it on high for 15 minutes or until it is soft. Let it sit another 5 or 10 minutes.

Then cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (discard them) and the insides.

Put the insides in a small oven proof casserole dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh basil.

Seeds have been discarded

Squash Innards in Casserole Dish

Saute garlic, Zucchini and carrots

Next prepare one zucchini by slicing it in very thin rounds.

Prepare 2 carrots - peel then cut them in julienne strips.

Peel and finely chop 2 garlic cloves.

Put 2 Tbsp margarine or oil in a skillet and saute the garlic and carrots for 2 minutes.

Add the zucchini and saute another 3 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup white wine and simmer for 5 minutes.

Layering in the casserole dish

Then pour the mixture on top of the zucchini squash. Add another bit of salt, pepper and fresh basil

Put 1/2 to 3/4 cup goats milk cheese on top, then add 8 Tbsp. of chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned) plus a bit of the liquid if canned.

Put another bit of salt pepper and fresh basil then cover and bake at 350' for 30 minutes.

Uncover and add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and bake another 12-15 minutes until bubbly.


Add the Goat's Milk Cheese				x

Parmesan Cheese added, ready for the oven

Ready to Eat!

Serve as a side dish with a chicken breast or veal if desired, or as your main meal.

Go WIld With Applesauce

2011-09-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Washing our wild apples in sink

I recently discovered the joys of homemade applesauce made with wild apples.

I'm allergic to apple skins so rarely eat apples as I'm too lazy to peel them! And store bought applesauce makes my mouth itchy. There are probably bits of skin in it and so I react.

So for me, applesauce wasn't a treat. Until now

We have about 20 wild apple trees on our hobby farm. This year hubs picked some and showed me how big and red they were. I couldn't bear to see them go to the piglets, so I hunted for applesauce recipes. I finally found one that was pretty good although far too sweet for our taste.

Hubs picks apples

Now mind you, the end product varies depending on the type of apples on the tree, so I can't blame the recipe. In any case I tweaked it slightly (much less sugar, a bit more water) and we love the final product.

Because we have so many apples this year, I froze some and made applesauce with the rest. Well, actually I'm not done yet.

One tree is Golden Delicious and it doesn't freeze well (too mushy) and likewise doesn't make the best applesauce. Hubs will probably just eat those. The rest are great for applesauce but I learned not to mix the apples from different trees. It's too difficult to get the sugar ratio just right!

Here's the tweaked recipe for applesauce, but if you use it, err with less sugar as you can always add more. One little tip I learned was to dip the peeled and cut apples into Fruit Fresh to keep them from going brown. Otherwise by the time you are part-way through the peeling and chopping, the apples are brownish.

Peeling, coring, chopping apples

Oh, and at first we did all this by hand - what a chore!

Ingredients

16 wild apples (about 16 cups) peeled and cubed
2 1/4 cups water
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Progressive Apple Peeler

Toss this all together in a pot on the stove, bring to boil and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Mash with potato masher when cool. I froze mine in small containers and it's delicious. It yields just over 4 cups of applesauce.

Then I bought a Progressive International Apple Peeler and Corer from Amazon.com which also cores and slices.

It clamps to our harvest table and this afternoon we prepared about a dozen apples in less than 10 minutes. Wow! What a time-saver.

Applesauce!

And here's the final product - yummy applesauce from our wild apple trees.

Apples in freezer

To freeze the rest of the apples, I peeled them and cut them into thin wedges then put them in single layers on cookie sheets to freeze for about an hour.

Then I slid them off and put them in ziplock baggies. I plan to make apple pie, apple crumble and other yummy apple treats throughout the winter.

Carrot Zucchini Pasta

2011-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Carrot Zucchini Pasta

If you like a light meal with no meat, this is for you. If you like a little side dish with nutritional and great-tasting vegetables and pasta, this is for you. If you're struggling to meet the nutritional rule-of-thumb "Eat something green and something orange at every meal" this is for you!

This is Carrot Zucchini Pasta - easy to make and super nutritious.

You are going to need the following:

4 cups sliced zucchini (mine are fresh from my garden)
3-4 cups sliced carrots. I like mine julienne but you don't have to cut yours that way
1 cup vegetable broth. I didn't have homemade so I made mine with water and a vegetable broth cube
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped (optional)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
fresh basil and parsley

3 cups Julienne Sliced Carrots

4 cup zucchini

First step is to slice the carrots and zucchini.

I like my garlic sliced or chopped, not grated but you can suit yourself. Get that ready too.

Put 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a deep skillet and put on medium heat.

Saute the onion and garlic for about 2 minutes.

Add the carrots and saute another 3 minutes.

Add zucchini and keep sauteeing for another 2 minutes.

Chopped Garlic

Vegetable Stock

Then add the 1 cup of vegetable broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes

While the mixture is simmering, measure out 4 cups of uncooked pasta. I used rotini but you could use shells or bow-ties.

Put a pot of salted water on to boil then add the pasta and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Then drain the pasta from the water and set aside.

Saute carrots

Zucchini added to skillet

After your vegetable mix has simmered for the full time (8-12 minutes) add the drained pasta and mix well.

Then add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and mix again.
Mix well and add some freshly cut basil and parsley. You're ready to eat!

The original recipe was in Canadian Living's Best Pasta cookbook

'Tis the Season to Dry Herbs

2011-07-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

Herb Drying Rack on kitchen north wall

Well, my herbs are drying nicely on their various drying racks in the kitchen. I ran out of room on my first rack (the one with umbrella like arms that swing up and out when in use).

So far I've hung Basil, Lemon Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, and Sage. I added one sprig of parsley even though parsley doesn't dry well. I will leave it a few days until there's no moisture and then I'll freeze it in plastic ziplock bags.

Since I have many more herbs ready to harvest, this morning I had hubs pull two of our antique hook racks out of storage and hang them for me in the kitchen. There's not a lot of room on them but I can get almost a dozen more bunches of herbs up using them.

Herb drying rack on kitchen west wall

I can hardly wait to store these for use all winter long. I keep my dried herbs in green glass containers in a dark pantry so they don't lose any potency or flavour.

My coriander has flowered now I just have to wait for the flowers to turn brown. Then I can shake the fruit off and store that too. I've never dried coriander before so this is new for me.

I can't get cilantro plants where I live so I bought a bunch of fresh cilantro in the grocery store. I know I can chop the leaves and freeze them in ice cube trays for use.

I love cilantro and have begun using it a lot in my cooking. It's wonderful with tomato-based dishes, eggs, avacado... and much more.

But I can never use the entire bunch you have to buy! In fact I use about 1/100th of it and the rest gets thrown out. What a shame! So I'm going to try the ice-cube tray method and see if I like it. Unfortunately I have no ice cube trays so I'm using small cream cheese containers with lids. Fingers crossed!

Chopped Cilantro in Water

Just chop the cilantro and put one portion (I used a tablespoon) in an ice cube tray or small container, then add enough cold water to just cover the leaves. Freeze and when you are ready to use the cilantro in a recipe, toss the whole thing in, water and all!

Barbeque Foods at a Family Reunion

2011-07-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Every summer we hold a Family Fun Day at our home. Since we have a hobby farm, we've got lots of room for games, scavenger hunts and outdoor cooking.

Making an Outdoor Corn Cooker

One of the traditional foods we cook is corn on the cob. Our twist is that we cook this outside over an open fire. Hubs and I took an old child's swing set and removed the swings leaving only the frame. Then we took an old water pressure tank, cut a chunk off to make a pot about 2 feet in diameter and 2 1/2 feet high.

Next hubs drilled 3 holes at the top of the tank and inserted chains which meet to merge into one chain. The tank hangs on the swing set frame from that one chain. We now have a very nice corn roasting pot! Just fill the pot with water, build the fire under it and start it up.

Water Pressure Tank

Finished Corn Cooker

It takes about an hour from start to finish depending on how big a fire you build and how close the pot is to the fire. If you hang the pot too close to the flames you get ashes falling into the cooking water.

Garden Grabber aka Corn Picker Upper

Last year hubs bought a tool called Garden Grabber. It's for picking up leaves - it looks a rake on a long pole but the hand grabs the leaves. Hubs uses it to grab the corn out of the boiling water.

The first year we cooked corn outside over an open fire, he taped a wire basket to an old broom handle to get the corn out of the boiling water. Not the best method so that's why he bought the Grabber last year. It works perfectly!

Barbeque Chicken

Barbeque Chicken

The other traditional food I make for the reunion is barbeque chicken. It's easy. I just buy chicken thighs (sometimes I add a few drumsticks for variety) and pre-cook them for about 20 minutes in my oven.

Then I baste them with barbeque sauce and grill them outside on the barbeque for about 10 minutes each side. I like chipotle style barbeque sauce but you can use any kind you prefer.

Sausages or Hot Dogs

The third food item I like to make for a Family Fun Day is something I know the children will like - either hot dogs or sausages on the barbeque. Of course we have the standard buns plus all the fixings - relishes, mustards, ketchup, pickles, chopped onion, cheese and horseradish. Yep that's right - horseradish. It's yummy on a sausage in a bun!

I like to put a small container of saurkraut on the picnic table too, and a variety of mustards such as French, Dijon and whatever other kind appeals.

Family and friends who come to the Reunion bring desserts and salads so our summer feast is complete!

Sweet Potato Fry With Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce

2011-07-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

Darn one of the eggs broke! But it was yummy

Last week I had a brief glimpse of a brunch dish on T.V. No recipe was given and there were no instructions how to cook it, but it looked and sounded so yummy I decided to try to duplicate it.

All I could see was that it had sweet potato, sweet peppers, some kind of sausage and onion as a base, with a poached egg on top covered in Hollandaise. I knew it had more ingredients but it wasn't clear from the finished product what they were.

So this morning I created my own version and boy was it yummy! I started with pre-cooking one peeled and sliced sweet potato for about 10 minutes in boiling water (I think I'd reduce this to 8 minutes next time). Then I cooled it quickly in cold water and set it aside.

The chopped vegetables and sausage

Next I chopped into cubes 1/2 a red pepper, 1/2 a yellow pepper, one small onion, a small chunk of sweet sausage (I used chourico) cut into slices, and about 2 Tablespoons of fresh cilantro.

I set that aside to work on the Hollandaise sauce and the poached eggs.

I started the water for the poached eggs then made the Hollandaise sauce. For the sauce I melted about 1/4 - 1/3 cup butter and slowly added it to 3 beaten egg yolks, stirring constantly. I put a tiny squirt of lemon juice in the egg-butter mixture and a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper. I thought it might need a hint of spicy to contrast the sweet potato and peppers.

When my Hollandaise had thickened slightly, I kept it warm by pouring it into the pan where the butter had melted, putting the lid on and sticking it in the microwave. I didn't turn the microwave on of course, I was just using it as a warming oven.

Poaching the eggs in the egg boats

As soon as the water was boiling rapidly, put my eggs in their little egg boats (I don't know the actual name for them, I just call them egg boats and I love them for poached eggs! You have to remember to give them a quick spray with cooking oil though or the eggs will stick).

I gently put the egg boats in the water and turned the gass off and put the pan lid on, then set the timer for 10 minutes. I didn't want a runny yolk this time but I might try this with an 8 minute egg next time.

Don't take the lid off and in 8 or 10 minutes you will have perfect poached eggs in a beautiful circular shape, no straggly bits protruding.

Saute time!

Once the eggs were nestled in their hot water and the timer set, I sauteed the peppers and sweet potato mixture in a small amount of butter. I added salt and pepper to taste to the cubed items in the pan, and a quick shake of fine herbes.

It took about 5 minutes for the onions to be nice and soft but not crispy or brown. I just kept that mixture warm while waiting for the eggs to finish.

Ready to assemble

Okay everything was done and ready for assembly! First I had to get the egg boats out of the hot water and work fast to stop the eggs from continuing to cook.

So I scooped the saute mixture in to my glass dish and then turned out my perfectly poached eggs on top. Last was the Hollandaise poured over the top and my brunch was ready.

To make it even prettier I could have added some fresh parsley on top. You can see the finished dish at the beginning of this recipe. It was really tasty but I didn't are for the sausage I chose so next time I'll try another type.

I also think I might try cooking honey-garlic sausage separately and serving it beside the egg-sweet potato dish, or pre-cooking Sweet Italian and slicing it to add to the mixture.

My husband gave this first attempt a 7.5 out of 10. I'll do better next time I try it. But it was tasty!

Ollie's Cheese Omelette

2011-06-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Omelettes are one of my favourite food items to make. Omelettes are basically a mixture of beaten eggs and milk with whatever vegetables and herbs you like.

I usually add green onion fresh from our garden if I have it, red pepper, various herbs from my garden (parsley, chives, thyme, oregano) and cheese. Salt and pepper are to taste.

After you mix the eggs (4 eggs makes a nice supper size omelette) and a bit of milk, you heat some butter or margarine in a skillet. When the butter is sizzling (but not burning!) pour in the egg mixture. Then toss in your finely chopped herbs and onion.

As the omelette cooks it will start to come up in big bubbles. You have to gently lift the edges while tipping the pan so that the liquid egg runs underneath. That's what cooks the omelette so you don't have to flip it over.

When you see only a little bit of liquid egg on top, add the cheese.

My Omelette Packets

I like to cut the omelette in half when it is almost done, then I gently fold the edges over from each side, to make a small folded packet. I let the two packets cook a little bit longer and then they go on the plate.

If I'm making these for supper, I usually steam some asparagus and make country biscuits. Yummy and filling!

Harvesting Herbs for Cooking

2011-06-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today I harvested some of our herbs from the garden. Sage, Oregano, Rosemary and Thyme were growing well. In fact my Thyme is flowering!

I cut the herbs early in the morning. Not so early that they were damp from dew but a bit later after they were quite dry.

Rosemary & Oregano

I love the smell as I cut them and placed them on paper towels inside my wicker basket.

Herbs on Paper Towels

Next I shook the herbs to get rid of dust and bits of debris, then I placed them all on paper towels. I wanted to be sure they were fairly clean and dry before bundling them for tying.

Herbs Drying on Racks

Herbs are tied together in small bundles, then hung upside down to dry on my antique towel rack in the kitchen. You would not believe how good it smells in there!

The tea towel is placed to stop direct sunlight from hitting the herbs. It's a south facing window, not the best spot for drying herbs but it's the only place where I have the wooden racks that are perfect for drying.

When the herbs are completely dry I will place them in green glass containers and store them in a cool dark pantry for use in my cooking.

Ollie's Never Give Up Tortillas

2011-05-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Final Never Give Up Tortillas

I tried my hand at Tortilla making for the first time early this morning. It was a failure. The dough was crumbly and didn't cook properly. I set off the smoke alarm which not only beeps a shrill alarm but calls out in French and English "Fire! Feu!" The dogs were freaked out. Hubs woke up (it was early - 6 am) and was not impressed.

After much puzzling over what went wrong, I figured it out. I used corn flour because hubs mistakenly bought it in place of cornmeal and I wanted to use it up. So I did a straight substitution for all-purpose flour called for in the Tortilla recipe I was using. Big mistake. I didn't realize that corn flour has no guten and will not stick together (ah, that accounts for the crumbliness!). So it must always be used with another flour - whole wheat or all-purpose. DUH!

Okay after much hunting online for a recipe using corn flour, I gave up and semi-invented my own. And it worked! I cooked 6 medium size tortillas that both hubs and I are happy with. And no one began yelling "FIRE! FEU!" as I cooked. I am covered in flour and the kitchen's one huge mess but that's the price to pay for being creative. Okay -- messy and careless.

You need one bowl to mix the following ingredients:

3/4 cup yellow corn flour
1 1/4 cup flour (I used all-purpose)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

When that is mixed, add 1 capful of vegetable oil (I told you I invented this, I don't usually measure ingredients!). I estimate my capful was about 1 Tbsp.

Blend and then slowly start adding warm water. Keep stirring with a fork, not a spoon. I can' t tell you how much water, just keep adding and stirring until your dough looks like the dough on the left. It's not too dry and not too wet. Not sticky, yet it holds together.

Knead this dough ball a half-dozen times, just the way you knead bread dough. You do make home-made bread, right? Now put the dough back in the mixing bowl to rest for about 10 minutes under a damp tea towel.

After 10 minutes take the dough ball out and form it into a rough sausage shape. I can't remember if I continued or I let the sausage rest for another 5 or 10 minutes! I think I let it rest.

Next step is to pinch off equal amounts of dough. I did 6 because I wanted 6 fairly large tortillas. You wouldn't get more than 12 or they'd be really tiny.

On a lightly floured surface, take one of your dough balls and press it into a round with the heel of your hand. You're ready to start rolling it out. If you want a fairly decent consistent circle, only do one "push" with your rolling pin. Start in the middle of the dough and make that one short push UP and then one short push DOWN back across the middle and down the same distance as you went UP.

Then you rotate your dough 70' and repeat the UP-DOWN push. Turn it another 70' (in the same direction) and repeat the UP-DOWN push. Continue rotating for 7 or 8 turns. You're not rolling to the very edge until the last couple of rolls. The more careful you are with this rolling out, the more perfect a circle you will have.

Confused? Never mind, not everyone is as anal retentive as I am. Just roll your dough balls out as you want to.

Now you're ready to heat a griddle or a cast iron fry pan on medium to high heat. I used a little bit of oil - a spray kind of canola oil just to lightly coat the griddle.

When it's hot, start cooking your tortillas, one or two at a time. They will start to form bubbles and after a couple of minutes you can flip them over and cook the other side. When they are golden brown they're done!

This shows you how thick the tortillas are. I think I'm going to make them a little thinner on my next try. I ended up with 6 tortillas about 6 or 7 inches in diameter from this recipe. And I got to use a bit of my corn flour!

Serve with anything you like - scrambled eggs, sauteed vegetables, beans and rice, flaked tuna .... the possibilities are endless.

Reenie's Rhubarb Loaf

2011-05-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Warm Rhubarb Loaf. Mmmmm

Today I took some of the rhubarb I froze a few days ago and made rhubarb loaf. It was so yummy! I could have made rhubarb muffins with this recipe but my husband hates muffins so I baked this in 2 loaf pans and he loves it. Go figure...

Since I was using frozen chopped rhubarb I just pulled out 2 bags and popped them in the microwave (open them first!) for about 1 1/2 minutes. They defrost very quickly, with a fair bit of liquid which you use in the recipe. Don't discard it.

I didn't invent this but I call the recipe Reenie's Rhubarb Loaf because my husband and a few friends call me 'Reen or 'Reenie.

Ingredients (except I forgot to put brown sugar in the photo)

In one large bowl, you'll need to mix the following:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a smaller bowl, blend 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Gently whisk in 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk (I substituted 2%milk + 1 tsp white vinegar), and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Now add the wet to the dry along with 2 cups of chopped rhubarb. Since I used frozen, I defrosted it and left the liquid that came with defrosting in to equal 2 cups.

Final Mixture

Mix gently by hand just until the flour mixture is blended in. I use a rubber spatula for this step.

This is where you decide if you are making muffins or loaves. Grease whatever pans you are using. I use Spray Canola Oil to grease my pans.

I used 2 meatloaf pans sprayed with Canola Oil. After you pour and scrape the mixture into your pans, you are ready to make the topping.

Ready for the oven

The topping is easy - just melt 1 Tbsp butter or margarine and add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Then sprinkle the topping over your muffins or loaves.

The loaves or muffins go in a 350' oven. Bake loaves for 40 to 45 minutes. Muffins only take 20 to 25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a very sharp knife if you don't have a cake tester. If the knife comes away clean, your goodies are done.

Cooling on a rack

After you take your muffins or loaves out of the oven, let them sit for 10 minutes before turning them out on a rack. Eat the first bite while your baking is warm - indescribably delicious!

This recipe has been changed from the original which I got a few years ago - but I forget where I found it. I did change it slightly and will probably tweak it some more even though I really like the taste.

Harvesting Rhubarb, Freezing it and Saving Some for Rhubarb Muffins

2011-05-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

I love rhubarb. As a kid we always had some growing in the backyard. I used to go out with a dish of sugar, break off a stalk (discard the poisonous leaf of course!), dip the rhubarb in the sugar and start eating. MMmmmmm I still remember how good that was!

You can do many things with rhubarb. You can freeze it and use it all winter. You can stew it and either eat it poured over ice cream, by itself or a myriad of ways. You can also freeze or preserve stewed rhubarb. You can bake pies or muffins, make jam... the list of what you can do with rhubarb is endless!

I used to make rhubarb custard pie when my kids were younger. I confess I haven't made one in more than 15 years. As much as I love them I eat way too much when I make them. My favourite food to make with rhubarb is Rhubarb Muffins. There's something about them that just cries out GOODNESS! HEALTH! YUMMY!

When I moved from town (where I had my own little patch of rhubarb growing in the backyard) I made my new husband dig up the rhubarb to replant out here in the country. It took a few years but it grew. And it spread. Rhubarb is tenacious and hardy, it takes a lot to kill it. My two plants had huge mounds of earth dumped on them and one actually survived and sprang up from the earth mound a year later. So this year hubs tilled a huge garden (30x40 feet) around that lonely rhubarb plant. He set out railroad ties in a square about 12x12 around that one rhubarb plant and we are going to help it spread.

Today I decided I better harvest some as it seems to be loving the new freedom it has and I swear it's spreading already. The way I harvest rhubarb is to take a very sharp butcher knife and using it like a machete, I chop the rhubarb as far down the stalk to the ground as I can reach.

Then I hold the stalk and with one swing, chop the poisonous leaf off. I put the leaves into a tub for hubs to dispose of, and the stalks go into my bucket.

After you have harvested the rhubarb you want, bring it in the house and put it in a sink of cold water to wash any dirt or bugs off.

Next lay your rhubarb out to dry. When it's completely dry, I cut it into 1 inch lengths. Some people prefer it to be in 2 inch lengths. Then I put it into small freezer bags, make sure all the air is gone from the bag and then seal and label it.

I like to freeze rhubarb in the amounts I will need for making muffins or for stewing a small amount for hubs and I to enjoy with vanilla ice cream.

I just finished chopping and putting the rhubarb in small ziplock bags for the freezer and am happy to say I got about 12 cups of rhubarb harvested today.

Planting My Herb Garden

2011-05-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, hubs and I bought the herbs I wanted for my herb garden this year. I got 8 plants of thyme and 8 of sage, 2 each of oregano, rosemary, basil, marjoram, parsley, mint and cardamon.

Because I can't crouch or kneel or stoop due to physical limitations, hubs set up sturdy plastic shelves for me last year and I did my herbs in window boxes on the shelves. It worked great, so this year I bought more.

Hubs had to plant them for me as exhuastion quickly sets in when I try to do things like that. He carefully took each little plant out of its plastic container and set them in the window boxes - 4 to each box.

When they have grown and spread, I'll harvest them in the fall and dry them inside the house on drying racks. Parsley can't be dried but I'll put it in ice cube trays to freeze in small blocks.

Meantime I'll be enjoying my fresh herbs all summer long in various recipes! Then in the late winter I'll still have fresh sage, thyme and marjoram for the turkey at Christmas. Yum!

I am not likely to use the mint but I wanted to experiment with making mint tea

After hubs planted my herbs where I wanted, I labelled each one with white "stakes" with their names. That's not for me, as I know what each herb is! But I often send hubs or a family member out to cut a few fresh leaves for me while I'm making supper, and no one recognizes anything except parsley!

If I send my son out for thyme he's as apt to return with a handful of basil leaves. So hopefully the white labels will solve that little problem.

Here's an interesting book on growing herbs for anyone interested in starting. It's a great way to enjoy fresh tastes all year long and they smell wonderful when drying inside in the winter.

Ollie's Old-Fashioned Chicken Soup

2011-04-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made chicken stock for use today in my old-fashioned chicken soup. Last night I separated the liquid stock from the meat and put everything in the fridge.

The nice thing about leaving the stock overnight in the refrigerator is that it separates fat from liquid. The fat rises to the top and is easy to skim off before you start your soup.

Most of the fat is skimmed off the top and the stock is ready to use.

Taking 2 large stalks of celery, I washed and chopped them into small pieces. It's a personal choice, you can cut the celery any size you like.

Next come the carrots. I like carrots so I used 2 - one medium and one large one. I'm fussy about how my carrots are cut so I cut them in the style you see here. You can cut them in rounds which is much easier and faster to do. It's your choice.

Onions are next. I used two. I like my onions chopped fairly small and in uniform pieces so the way I do it is to slice down the onion in one direction. I don't cut all the way to the bottom so the onion is still held together.

Next I turn the onion and slice down across the cuts I made previously. Again, I don't cut to the bottom so the onion is still held together.

Next I turn the onion on its side and slice across the first two directions I cut. This chops the onion into fairly uniform sizes. When I reach the bottom (which is still held together) I chop those on their own.

This is what I end up with. Fast, easy and creates fairly uniform size and shape pieces. Feel free to do your own thing!

Now I'm ready for the chicken I removed from the stock yesterday. I likely won't need it all. You can see in the picture how much there was. I will use about 1/2 to 3/4 of what you see here.

And here's the chupped chicken ready to go. When I'm chopping it up, I am careful to remove skin or fatty bits. Then I go through it with clean hands and make sure there are no bones left.

I toss everything into the crock pot and decide if I need more liquid. I might add apple juice or white wine plus as much water as I need to make the soup the consistency I prefer.

Other ingredients added at this time are 1 or 2 chicken cubes, 1 tsp fine herbes, and salt and pepper to taste. I usually add a finely chopped and mushed up tomato or two but today I did not have any so I added a tablespoon of ketchup for some tomato flavour. It's optional.

Here is my soup simmering in the crock pot. I'll set it on high and leave it for 6 hours, then I'll add 1/2 cup of rice or pasta and simmer for another 2 hours.

Serve it with hot buns or fresh bread and a salad and you've got a super nutritious and yummy meal.

Making Chicken Stock with a Food Pod

2011-04-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is my new Food Pod. I'm using it today for the first time as part of my Chicken Soup making routine.

First I roughly chopped carrots, celery and onion, then put them inside the Food Pod (in the ligher yellow part). I added a sprig of fresh thyme, then closed the pod (the darker yellow part with the long handle is the "lid")

The Food Pod can be placed in boiling water such as in a stew pot or chicken stock pot and left there while you make your dish. That's what the long handle is for. You drape it over the edge of the top of the pot and put the lid on.

Apparently when my stock is done, I'll be able to remove the pod by it's handle and bingo, no messy vegetables to try to get out of the stock water.

Here's another picture I took of the Food Pod

The Pod sits beside my Crock Pot just before I put it in with the chicken carcass. I also put lots of salt, pepper, fine herbes and a bit of cumin in the pot with the chicken.

And here is the pod stuffed into my crock pot with the chicken carcass. The Pod is supposed to hang nicely and float in the liquid but it was a bit squished and short of room here.

Next step - time to add the leftover vegetable water that I always save and keep in my freezer. I have several containers of vegetable water in the freezer and they all got added today.

After this mixture cooks on high for several hours and the meat has fallen off the chicken bones, I'll strain the liquid and have yummy stock for soup.

Then I'll let the meat and bones cool enough that I can strip all the meat and cut it into very small pieces. Using the stock plus a cup or two of the meat, and vegetables I'll make chicken soup - either with rice or beans or pasta. I'll write out the recipe for that in my next blog post

Rabbit Stew

2011-04-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

My husband hunts for rabbit in the winter and I cook what he brings home. The main trick with rabbit is to marinade it for several days as it is a very dry meat. That's why it's low-cal!

Here is how we do rabbit:

In a large covered dish, mix 1 onion roughly chopped with 2 Tbsp of Pickling Spice, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 1 Tbsp. salt. Add the rabbit which you have left whole or sectioned as you wish - I like to use whole legs, breast divided in two - basically fairly large chunks of meat on the bone. Cover with water. Cover the dish and put in the fridge for 3 days. Turn the rabbit daily. It will turn white so don't worry when you see this change.

After 3 days rinse the rabbit and brown it slightly in butter. Put the pieces in a casserole dish or a slow cooker. Add sliced or whole mushrooms (your choice, I prefer whole or halved), a chopped onion and 1 can of mushroom soup. I like to add a 1/2 cup of white wine. Add any spices you like - salt, pepper, some fine herbes - it's a personal taste thing with spices.

Cover the casserole dish for the first 30 minutes and bake at 350' for one hour (the last half hour is uncovered)

If you are using a slow cooker, cook it on high for 3 hours. I prefer the oven for this dish but try both and see which you like.

Instead of using the mushroom soup you can make your own gravy from the drippings in the fry pan after you browned the rabbit. My mother-in-law likes to roll the rabbit pieces in flour first and then brown them.

We like homemade thick crusty bread as a side dish with this stew but you could make dumplings or biscuits. I usually keep the vegetables pretty simple with this dish - plain carrots (steamed or boiled) are nice with the stew.

Sprouting: Lentils Day 3 (Fail)

2010-12-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Day 3 and the Lentils are ready to eat. I was really looking forward to this as I love lentils.

I eat Lentil Soup, I put lentils in Chili, I just all-round enjoy them!

I tried a few. Bitter! Burning my tongue. Hmm that does not seem right. Gave a spoonful to hubs. He agreed they were horrid. Hubs said they had a bitter musty taste.

Here's the question - did I do something wrong? I followed instructions but maybe I messed up.

Is this how they are supposed to taste?

Is there a difference in taste in black lentils, green lentils and the other colours

Were the seeds bad to start with?

But there's always a positive side to any experience. We fed them to our two pigs, Piggly and Wiggly. They seemed to enjoy them. But I have a huge bag of black lentil seeds that still need sprouting! All that work for two pigs? I dunno.....

Sprouting: Lentils Day 2

2010-12-14T06:12:00.000-08:00

My black lentils which I started sprouting yesterday morning had to soak for 8-12 hours. So last night before bed I rinsed and drained them. I will have to do that each morning and evening until the sprouts are ready.

Here's the routine that hubs and I followed and will follow for the next few days:

1. Drain any water in the outer container.

You can save this water for making soups if you want to. Just put it in a plastic tub with your other saved vegetable water (you do save the water you cook your vegies in, don't you??) and toss it in the freezer for later use

2. Rinse lentils under warm water for 5 minutes, being sure all lentils are rinsed well

Here's what the lentils look like on Day 2

3. Drain the rinse water by shaking, bumping and rotating the inner container. Be careful not to toss your lentils out of the top! Keep shaking the container until no water splashes out

4. Place inner container inside outer container, being sure to hook it on the little plastic ledges so that the lentils are not sitting in water. Hooking the inner compartment leaves about 1 inch of free space at the bottom between inner and outer - room for excess water to drain off.

5. Put vented lid or domed vented lid on top of sprouter and place in a warm spot. You need diffused light but not direct sunlight on your seeds as they sprout

Remember to rinse and drain the lentils every morning and every night.

Sprouting: Lentils Day One

2010-12-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

I used to grow sprouts in trays back in the '70s when it was the "in" thing to do. I have not grown them for over 30 years but recently decided to start up again. Things have changed! There are so many varieties of sprout seeds you can buy, it's overwhelming.

So I bought Alfafa Sprouts, Lentils (black) and Garbanzo Beans. The research I did online shows me how to grow them so here goes!

Today I'm starting with Black Lentils. I have a plastic sprouter with an insert which allows drainage.

Step 1 was to get 1/2 cup of lentils. I put those in my plastic insert and began rinsing. Lukewarm water, not too hot and not too cold. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed.

Then I put the insert in the container (all the way down, I don't want it to drain) and added water so the lentils can soak for 8 to 12 hours. I put in about 3 or 4 times as much water as lentils.

This is what the lentils look like soaking in their water inside the plastic container.

I now have to rinse and drain them every 8 hours, so I will do that at night and first thing in the morning.

They should be ready for eating in 3 days.

Cornish Pasties a la Ollie

2010-12-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

There are many different versions of Cornish Pasties. You will also find Devon Pasty recipes which are similar to Cornish. Basically a Cornish Pasty is made up of a durable pastry crust called Shortcut Pastry (it is not the same as a pie crust) stuffed with meat, potatoes, turnip and onion. It is baked in a half-moon shape with crimped edges.

Purists do not crimp the top of the pasty, although that is much easier and helps prevent leakage. Edge crimping is preferable to the purist. But it's your choice!

Purists also do not add carrots, but many people do. Again, it's a personal choice. I also add spices and certain other ingredients which a purist would not. Too bad, I like my pasties the way I make them

Chopping Onions

The first thing I do is prepare my filling ingredients. I use sirloin tip beef and chunk it into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes. Remove any fat or stringy bits.

Next finely chop shallots if you have them (a kind of sweet onion) or just a regular onion. We are making 4 pasties today so you need about one large onion.

Turnip in thin slices

I like to slice my turnip and potatoes in very thin slices instead of chunking them. It's hard to say how much of each vegetable you need, but the ratio I use is about 3 times as many potatoes as turnip.

About 1 medium potato for every 2 pasties should do it.

I make a little "roux" next. Purists don't do this but I do! I take 1 Knorr-Swiss Chicken Bouillion Cube, 1 tsp. margarine and 1 tsp of powdered gravy. I use Knorr-Swiss powder gravy.

Put the margarine in a fry pan, bring it to a bubble, turn it down to simmer and add the other 2 ingredients. Mix it up quickly and turn the mixture off. You aren't cooking it, just mixing and getting it hot. Set it aside.

Now you are ready to make the Shortcut Pastry. There's a standard recipe for this which does not use baking powder or vinegar but I make mine a little bit differently!

You need 3 1/2 c. flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 c. of lard or shortening (shortening is healthier, lard tastes better - you decide), 1/4 to 1/2 c. water and a wee smidgeon of either baking powder or vinegar

(smidgeon =1/4 tsp or so)

Mix flour, salt and baking powder (if using that) with two forks or pastry blender. Add the fat and keep mixing. Then add a bit of water plus the vinegar if you are using that and keep mixing with two forks or a large spoon until it starts to form a ball. You have to judge how much water you need - just keep adding slowly until you have the right consistency, not too wet, and not too dry.

Cut the ball into 4 equal parts, cover it with a tea-towel and leave it alone for about an hour. Have a cup of tea or coffee or do your nails while you are waiting. The fun part is coming soon.

Rolling The Pastry Circles

Pastry Circle about 9 inches diameter

Okay the hour is up, it's time to roll out your pastry. Spread some flour on a marble top if you have one (marble stays cold and is better for rolling out any kind of pastry), and start rolling one of your dough balls into a nice circle, about 9 inches in diameter. If the dough is sticking to your rolling pin sprinkle some flour on it. I use a marble rolling pin, it glides and is much less apt to stick.

Layering the Filling

You are almost ready to start layering in a half-moon shape. Some people like to lay their pastry circle with half draped over their rolling pin. I don't bother because I don't find it difficult to know where the middle is or to pull the other half up over the layers when I'm done.

First Layer - Meat

Before you start layering, you should lightly brush some milk around the outer edges of your pastry circles. Let that sit while you go and reheat your roux and round up all your filling ingredients.

Your first layer is always meat. Make a nice thick layer about 1 inch thick. Be sure you leave about an inch of pastry free around the edge for sealing and crimping.

Next comes onions, followed by salt and pepper to taste, then a drizzle if the gravy-bouillon cube mixture you made. This is where I like to add another drizzle of HP Chicken 'n Ribs Sauce. If I can find HP Fruity I use it instead. I also add Fine Herbes at this point because I love the flavour they add.

You might like to use HP Bold Sauce if you like a bit more tang to your food. You could add Worcestershire sauce too but be careful not to put on too much liquid.

Next layer is potatoes and then the turnip. It's going to be thick, you can go about 1/2 inch thick of each, because as the pasty bakes those vegetable layers will squoosh down.
When you're done layering, sprinkle a little bit of flour on top. Done and ready to fold over and crimp those edges!

Once you have folded over the half of the pastry and sealed it (remember the milk you brushed on earlier? That's going to help seal the edges), you can gently crimp the edges. It helps to kind of seal, then turn the underneath edge UP so it forms a bit of a wall before you crimp. It helps prevent leakage and sogginess.

Now brush the top of each pasty with a bit of milk and pierce the top in 2 spots with a sharp knife. Place each finished pasty on a lightly floured baking sheet and bake in a 320-340' oven for about an hour. Be sure to use the middle rack so the bottom of your pasties don't burn. Watch them carefully as you may need to bake for a bit longer.

Finished Pasties

And here is the finished product just out of the oven.

They might not be pretty but they sure are yummy!

Half a Pasty

I cut one in half to show the inside. Mmmm so good!

For lunch you don't need anything more with these as they are quite filling. My husband likes to put a dollop of HP bold sauce or chili sauce on his plate for dipping, but I prefer mine just as you see them here.

When we have these for supper I do some steamed asparagus and maybe a little mashed turnip and carrots combined to put on the side.

Ollie's Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Icing

2010-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

I love Carrot Cake. It's hard to find one in a restaurant that suits me so I make my own. I've tried many recipes over the years and this is the one I highly recommend. The original was found in The Canadian Living Cookbook published in 1987. I really didn't make any changes as it is delicious and fail-proof just as it is!

First grate your carrots. I use a food processor and grate about 6 large carrots. You need 3 cups of grated (in the green bowl in photo below)

In a large bowl beat 4 eggs, then gradually add 1 cup each of white sugar and brown sugar (see the sugars in the measuring cup on the right). Beat the eggs and sugars until they are light. Gradually beat in 1 cup of oil. I use Canola.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients as shown below. You need 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.

Now stir the dry into the wet, then add the 3 cups of shredded raw carrot plus 1/2 cup raisins. The original recipe also called for nuts but I'm allergic so I don't use them.

Pur the mixture into a greased and floured pan. I use a Bundt pan but you can use a 10 inch tube or even a 13x9 inch rectangular (lasagne) pan.

Bake in a 350' oven for 1 1/4 hours for tube or Bundt pan; 45-50 minutes for lasagne pan. Be sure that when you stick a straw or sharp knife into the centre it comes out clean. That means your cake is done.

Let the cake cool in the bundt pan for 5-10 minutes then turn out on to cooling rack. You can wrap this in saran and then tin foil and then put in plastic container and freeze it for several weeks, then remove and frost with cream cheese icing, or just leave it for an hour then frost it and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Icing is the must have for this cake. Here's how to make it:

Cream together 8 oz package of cream cheese (I use low-fat, it tastes the same), 1/4 cup butter or margarine (I use butter, it cancels out the low fat cream cheese!), 2 tsp. vanilla. Gradually beat in about 3 cups of icing sugar (play it by ear - keep adding until you have a nice smooth spreadable consistency to your icing).

If you frost the cake while it is slightly warm, the icing will nicely drip down on the Bundt pan and make a nice looking design. If you want to get fancy, buy the marzipan carrots to decorate the top. I like these: Carrot Cakes Cupcakes Cookies(14307) - Carrots Shaped Edible Hard Sugar Decorations, 12 pcs

Very pretty and very yummy! The cake I made recently doesn't have the pretty carrot decorations on top as I ran out. But this is what it looks like when you're done.

And this is what the first few pieces look like just before you dig in! MMMmmm so good!

Preserving Herbs For Winter Use

2010-08-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

I've been growing my own herbs for over 15 years. I don't grow a lot, just the herbs I use most in my recipes. I also grow some herbs just because I like how they smell or how they look.

The herbs I grow include Thyme, Basil, Sage, Parsley, Rosemary, Basil and Chives (although I don't preserve chives or bay leaves)

In the fall I pick all my herbs and prepare them for either drying or freezing. That way I can enjoy fresh herbs all year long! And there is nothing better than stuffing for the Thanksgiving turkey than fresh sage leaves (dried) and thyme.

I thought I'd just post a brief list of herbs that you can dry and those that fare better if you freeze them.

I dry Thyme, Sage and Rosemary. You should harvest your herbs before they flower if possible. Don't harvest them on a humid or rainy day and make sure you harvest them early in the morning.

I pick out any damaged bits, shake them to get rid of bugs, and then I tie them by their branches into loose bundles of 4. I use ribbon to tie mine then I hang them from an antique wooden dryer (it hangs on the wall and has umbrella like dowels that come out when raised). The dryer is near my woodstove. A few weeks of dry heat dries the herbs very nicely. Hang them wherever you like but avoid moisture or sunshine.

Once the herbs are dry, untie them, strip the leaves from their stalks by rubbing gently with your hands or stripping down from top to bottom. Then place the herbs in jars. I use antique depression dark green glass containers and then place those containers in a dark cupboard.

I freeze Basil and Parsley. Many people freeze sage but I have never had a problem with drying it. I don't crumble sage once it's dry, I just gently put the dried leaves into my glass containers. Basil and parsley keep better when frozen. If you are going to wash these herbs first, make sure they are very dry before freezing - use a paper towel to soak any moisture from them. I don't wash mine, I just shake them then freeze them.

You can freeze them in small plastic bags or ice cube trays. If you freeze them in ice cube trays, put them in bags when frozen and keep them in the freezer (labelled of course) until needed

You just can't beat your own homegrown herbs over store bought bits of powder that may have been sitting for months exposed to sunlight and losing their flavour.

Never Fail Cream of Cauliflower Soup

2010-07-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

I love cream of cauliflower soup and have spent years trying one recipe after another. Last year I hit on one from a little cookbook called "Company's Coming Greatest Hits: Soups & Salads"

Usually I end up changing recipes a lot, but this one is so perfect as is that I don't do anything different except add Fine Herbes and use a Knorr Swisse Chicken Bouillon Cube instead of powder.

1 cup water (I learned the hard way to NOT use the vegetable water you saved from cooking vegetables)
2 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower
1 chopped onion (about 1/2 cup)
1 Knorr Swisse Chicken Bouillon Cube
Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup milk
1 tsp Parsley flakes (I substitute Fine Herbes)

Combine water, cauliflower, onion, bouillon cube and salt and pepper in saucepan. Stir, cover and bring to boil. Simmer for about 12 minutes until tender. Do not drain.

Stir in milk and parsley or fine herbes. Pour into blender and process until smooth. It's ready to eat!

I add grated cheese sometimes and make country biscuits to go with it for a super healthy and yummy lunch.

This makes about 3 cups.

Chicken & Biscuits

2010-07-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

I love this dish. It's a super easy but yummy Chicken Pot Pie without the pastry, topped with biscuits. What makes it easy is that you use pre-made biscuits that you simply put on top of the Chicken Pot Pie before baking.

You will need the following:

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks as if making stew
1 onion, rough chopped, not too small
4 carrots, peeled and chopped as if for stew
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube (I use Knorr-Swisse)
1 container of Pillsbury Country Biscuits
salt, pepper, cumin, fine herbes
margarine or Canola oil

Put the chopped carrots into 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer carrots for 10 minutes. While they are simmering, start the onion and chicken.

Using a fry pan, heat 1 heaping TBSP of margarine or Canola oil . Saute chopped onion, raw chicken cubes and 1 Tbps Cumin, 1 tsp fine herbes and salt and pepper to taste for about 5-8 minutes. Remove from the hot oil/margarine and place in casserole dish. I use a round 2Qt size dish. Set aside. Do not throw out the hot margarine/oil!

Remove cooked carrots from the water (Don't throw the water out!!) and add carrots to the chicken - onion mixture in the casserole dish.

Now make a white sauce using the hot margarine/oil and the saved carrot water. Don't worry if your sauce goes lumpy, you can strain it through a seive and you will have a nice smooth white gravy.

When your white sauce is done, add it to the casserole dish. Mix and now place the uncooked biscuits on top.

Bake uncovered in a 350' oven for 20-30 minutes.

White Sauce the Easy Ollie Way

2010-07-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

White sauce is easy to make if you follow a few simple steps and you need to stir constantly.

For 1 cup of sauce you need 1 cup of liquid (milk or vegetable water or whatever your recipe calls for)
You also need 1 TBSP of margarine and an equal amount of white flour.

Take a teflon saute pan or fry pan (deep) and bring margarine to a bubbling state. Do NOT let it burn or go brown! Turn the heat down to medium and add an equal amount of flour. Mix to make paste type lumps. This creates what is called a ROUX.

SLOWLY begin to add your liquid to your ROUX, stirring constantly. Add a wee bit at a time and stir so that the ROUX stays smooth. If you add too much liquid too fast, the ROUX goes lumpy.

Keep stirring and adding liquid until you have a nice thick creamy sauce. Don't let it bubble too fast, that means your heat is too high.

Depending what you are making, you may want to add herbes or other items such as cheese.

There are a few tips to salvage a white sauce that isn't going well.... if it's too thin, you can add white veloutine (a powder for thickening sauces. Don't use the brown or you'll have a brown sauce!)

If your sauce is lumpy, just strain it through a fine strainer/sieve and you will have a nice smooth sauce.

The only thing you can't salvage is if you burn the margarine. So be careful to not have your heat too high.

Salsa Meatloaf with Cheese

2010-07-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not fond of Tomato Sauce or Ketchup in meatloaf. In fact I'm not really fond of meatloaf! But I created this meatloaf recipe that I absolutely love! I started with a meatloaf recipe from Canadian Living Cookbook but changed it quite a bit. (Definitely got rid of the tomato sauce and other ingredients I don't care for like green peppers.

Here's my recipe. Trust me, it's yummy!

In a bowl beat 1 egg with a fork. Add 1/c cup dry bread crumbs. I like to use Italian style crumbs for this dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 tsp Fine Herbes.

Chop 1 onion (or more if you like onions!), 1/2 yellow pepper, 1/2 red pepper (I also switch it up by replacing the peppers with finely chopped carrots -- mmm good)and saute in small amount hot oil for 3-5 minutes. Let cool slightly

Take 1/2 cup salsa. I use mild but you can use any hotness you like. I use chunky Salsa but you could use smooth to disguise the fact that it's salsa if you have kids or a hubby who don't like salsa. Yes it's all about tricking your hubby and kids to eat what you make! Add the salsa to the egg-breadcrumb mixture.

Now add the sauteed vegetables. Add 1 lb of ground turkey. Yes I prefer turkey to ground beef or ground chicken but it's your choice.

Mix everything well - get your hands dirty! Now pack it all into an 8x4inch loaf pan.

Pour another 1/2 cup of the salsa overtop and spread it to cover.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of grated cheese on top. I use double cheddar - mild and medium because I'm allergic to stronger cheeses but you can use whatever kind you like!

Bake uncovered in 350' oven for 60-75 minutes.

This is the red-yellow pepper meatloaf version. I serve mine with baked potatoes with sour cream and butter (or yam fries), and garlic brussel sprouts.

Below is my carrot meatloaf version.

This meatloaf is delicious cold the next day in a sandwich spread with Dijon mustard.

Asparagus Fritatta a la Ollie

2010-01-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

I love Fritattas! I am always trying new Fritatta recipes, then changing them to suit my family. I modified one vegetable Fritatta recipe I found to cook the one you see above. We love asparagus so I used that as my main vegetable in this dish. Here is how I did it:

Preheat oven 350' Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish lightly with oil

Using a fry pan on the stove, heat 3 Tbps vegetable oil (I use Canola) and saute 1 cup of chopped asparagus, 3/4 cup chopped onion, 3/4 cup chopped red pepper (or orange or yellow) and 1 clove minced garlic. When tender, take off heat and let cool a wee bit.

Take a large bowl and beat 6 eggs plus 1/4 half & half cream (or whipping cream!). Stir in 2 packages of diced cream cheese. Dice the cream cheese quite finely or you will get a big chunk as you are eating the finished product. Add 4 slices of bread, cubed. I used white but you can use whole wheat instead. Add 2 cups of grated Cheddar cheese (I used mild and medium but you can use whatever suits you) Add the sauteed vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp Fine Herbes.

Pour into the baking dish and top with very thinly sliced tomatoes. Bake for at least one hour. The center must be set, so test it with a knife inserted in the middle. If the knife comes back clean, the Fritatta is done. If the knife has the mixture stuck to it, the Fritatta is not cooked.

Delicous hot or cold!

Ollie's Grand Slam Sausage Casserole

2010-01-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Over the years I've tried various recipes for a heavy casserole dish of sausage and cabbage. They've all been tasty but not quite what I wanted.

Finally this week I experimented and came up with the following, which my hubby and I love! Feel free to play around with it and let me know if you have something that you think improves it.

8 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 - 1/2 cup of beer
1/4 cup vinegar
2 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp Cumin
1/4 tsp pepper or more to taste
4 dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
2 medium onions. I like mine in slices but you can chop them smaller if you prefer
2 cups of chunked celery (small chunks)
1 cup chopped or shredded green cabbage (chunky shredded, not too thin)
1 Tbsp oil. I use Canola
4 sausages, each cut into fours. I like Honey Garlic, you might prefer something a bit spicier such as Hot Italian
1 cup of cheddar cheese. I use a mix of mild and medium but use whatever taste you prefer

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until semi-soft. Don't overcook! Drain and set aside.

Cook the cut sausages in a little oil in a fry pan on medium heat. Keep turning them so they are brown on all sides (about 7 minutes). Add a little water (1/3 cup) and cover. Continue cooking another 5 min. or so on low heat. Take the sausages out of the liquid (but don't throw the liquid away!) and slice them in 1/2 inch rounds

In another frypan, saute the shredded cabbage, chopped onions and celery in a bit of oil. They should be tender-crisp and won't take more than 5 or 6 minutes

In a small measuring cup or pouring container, combine the beer, vinegar, mustard, cornstarch, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cumin and pepper. Add the liquid you saved from the sausage frypan. Set aside

In a 9x13 inch baking dish, start layering your ingredients. Put in half the cabbage, half the sausage rounds, half the sliced cooked potatoes and half the cheese. Pour in half the beer mixture.

Repeat layers. Pour in the rest of the beer mixture.

Bake uncovered in 375' oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is browned.

Serve with sour cream and enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

2010-01-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

This bread is yummy, and kids love it. What a great way to get some vegeys into them without them knowing! You can eat it plain or serve it with cream cheese spread on top. Either way it's good.

I used to make 30 loaves at a time when I grew my own zucchini. Now I make 12 loaves and freeze them. Here is the recipe for one loaf, you can double or triple or quadruple it if you wish

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini (I use my food processor but you can do this with a cheese grater)
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel (rinse the lemon first in cold water)

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. I don't put nuts in as I'm allergic to them, so I've no idea how it tastes with this added.

Grease an 8x4x2 inch loaf pan. Set it aside

Take a medium mixing bowl and stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Make a little hole in the center. Set this aside

Take a second medium mixing bowl and add beaten egg (beat it with a fork first), shredded zucchini, cooking oil and lemon peel. Add this mixture quickly to the dry and stir it til it is moistened. The batter must be lumpy (but mixed! No dry clumps). DON'T USE AN ELECTRIC BEATER as this makes the bread very tough.

Sometimes I add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of applesauce in place of the cooking oil. If using walnuts, add those now too.

Pour batter into your greased loaf pan and bake in 350' oven for 55 to 60 minutes. You can tell if it is cooked by inserting a knife into the middle of the loaf. If the batter sticks to it, the loaf is not cooked through. If the knife comes away clean, the bread is ready.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove the bread and cool it on the rack. Wrap it and store overnight before slicing and eating. Wrap it well in saran wrap and freeze if you want.

Here's another option: In place of the zucchini, add 1 cup shredded peeled apple for delicious apple bread.

I'll try to get a photo to put here, I forgot to take one when I made and served this at Christmas!

Ollie's Spaghetti Sauce

2009-09-13T10:51:00.001-07:00

Spaghetti Sauce is a very personal thing. I don't use a recipe and I don't measure my ingredients. I go by feel (it "feels" right!), look and taste. But I'll try to share my method of making spaghetti sauce with you. This sauce is a sweetish yet tangy sauce that my family loves. The sweetness comes from the sugar I add, the tang from the sausage meat. You can make it even tangier by adding a spicy sausage meat if you like.

I use ground turkey instead of beef (2 packages) and sweet Italian sausage (3 links) taken out of the casing, as my meat base. Fry the turkey and sausage on medium heat until no pink is showing, break into small pieces, drain and put in the slow cooker.

For my "extras" I dice or chop onions (2 small), 1 large stalk of celery, a package of fresh sliced mushrooms, 1 large bell pepper or combination of peppers - red, yellow or orange. I don't use green pepper as the longer green pepper simmers, the more bitter it becomes! I also add one chunked zuchinni but you can't add that until a couple of hours before the sauce is ready or it goes watery and mushy.

After your meat is browned and removed from the fat and liquid, you are going to saute the onions, celery and peppers. Don't saute the mushrooms!

Now take about 4 cloves of garlic and chop finely. You can mince it or put it through a garlic press if you prefer, but I like the sweetish flavour of the garlic when it is in tiny pieces (not minced).

I also use fresh thyme from my herb garden - at least 2 fairly large branches. I didn't grow bay leaves this year so can't take those fresh from the garden and have to use store-bought. You need 2 medium size bay leaves.

Okay you have sauted the onions, peppers and celery. Drain them and add to the crock pot of browned meat. Toss in the diced garlic, the thyme (stip it off the branches first!) and the bay leaves. Now add 1 small can of diced tomatoes. I like the ones with olive oil and garlic, also the ones with Italian seasoning. It's a personal choice. Sometimes I use a small can of chunky Italian sauce as well.

Then pour white wine into the can of sauce, about 1/3 full, swish it around to get out all the bits left in the can and pour it into the meat.

Last, add salt and pepper to taste, 1 heaping tsp of Fine Herbes (it's available in the cooking section of most grocery stores) and 1 tbps of Demarara Sugar. That's a brown sugar, you can't use white, it doesn't give the same sweetish flavour. If you can't find Demarara, you can use Sugar in the Raw, your last choice is ordinary brown sugar.

If your sauce seems too thick, add more wine. Not enough tomato? Add another small can, or 1/2 a can! This is where you have to "feel" or sense what is right.

Turn your slow cooker on to low heat and let it cook for 7 or more hours. About 2 hours before the sauce is done, add the chopped zuchinni.

Make spaghetti pasta as directed on the package, pour sauce over it (remove bay leaves first!) and add freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread and a Caesar Salad. Yummy!!!

Raspberry Pavolva

2008-12-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

There are as many recipes for, and methods of cooking Pavlova as there are blades of grass! Each differs slightly.

I am making individual Pavlova for 16 people this Christmas - with the big dinner on December 28th. The photo here is my trial run, which I made yesterday. Here is how i make my Pavlova:

Ingredients for Meringue:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup fine castor sugar or granulated sugar
pinch of tartar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for topping:

2 cups of whipping cream
1/4 cup white sugar
4 - 6 oz raspberries

Preheat oven to 200' F. Meantime combine 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup sugar and cream of tartar in a metal mixing bowl. To separate eggs, use your fingers as separators! Just break the egg in half, and pour it into the palm of your hand. Let the white slide through your fingers into a bowl or measuring cup and make sure the yolk stays in your palm. Of course I assume your hands are clean....

If the eggs are not at room temperature (and mine never are, I'm not organized enough to have them out and warming up!), then place or hold the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water and whisk or use a hand mixer to beat for about 3 minutes. Be sure whites are warm to the touch before you stop whisking

Now use your mixmaster and start beating the egg mixture on low, increasing to high until you see stiff glossy peaks. This takes about 10 minutes, sometimes longer. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined

Now comes the part where every cook has their own favourite way of forming the Meringue into one large pavlova or individual servings. If I am making individual pavlovas, I use large size muffin pans and spray them generously with olive oil spray. 2 large eggs makes 4 individual pavlovas in muffin pans. Then you spoon the Meringue into each muffin area. Scoop out middle and make sure there are sides. The Meringue should be about 1/2 inch thick.

Place muffin pans in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, watching carefully to be sure Meringue doesn't get too brown. If it does, turn oven down to 175'. If it is fine, keep oven at 200' and continue cooking another 2 hours. When time is up, turn off oven and leave Meringue in pans in oven overnight or 12 hours.

When you take the pans out of the oven you can turn them over and firmly smack the bottom so the Meringue falls out. Don't worry if some crack or even have a few small pieces fall off, as you can repair this with the whip cream

Next - whip the cream with 1/4 sugar until stiff peaks form. Spoon the whipped cream into the Meringue shells and then spoon raspberries over the top. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve.

Brussel Sprouts Bacon Casserole

2008-12-19T10:49:00.001-08:00

This is a Brussel Sprouts Bacon Casserole that takes about 40 minutes to make.

I love Brussel sprouts but I like to try different ways of cooking them. This recipe makes a huge amount so you might want to halve or even quarter it.

1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
fine herbes, 1/2 tsp
14 oz of chicken broth (I used half white wine and half chicken broth)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut stem ends off Brussels sprouts, discard discoloured outside leaves. Cut in half lengthwise, then slice crosswise to make thin strips.

In large skillet cook bacon on medium heat until it is brown. Add onions, salt, pepper and fine herbes and saute until onions are tender but not brown or crisp. Add Brussel sprouts and chicken broth. Cover the pan and simmer until tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Serves 8

Gloria's Island Chicken

2008-09-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Gloria, who was born in Morroco, gave me this recipe many years ago. I love it and the only change I made was to use white wine in place of the water it calls for.

I am putting this recipe online as a tribute to Gloria who passed away very suddenly in May 2008. I miss her and whenever I make this dish I think of her and the first time she served it.

Ingredients

5 onions
1 whole roasting chicken
3 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp coriander
salt & pepper

1 1/2 oz raisins
1/2 cup water (I use white wine instead)

Cut the onions into 4 chunks. Brown them in a bit of olive oil. Add 3 Tbsp hot water. Now brown the chicken separately in the olive oil. Add the onions, honey, vinegar, coriander, salt and pepper to the chicken.

Place everything in an oven-proof pan, do not cover, and put in a warm oven for 12 minutes. Add 1/2 cut hot water (or white wine) and the raisins. Cover and cook for 1 3/4 hour at 375'

Note: I used chicken breasts for the photos you see here. 4-6 breasts replaces the roasting chicken but reduce the cooking time by 30 minutes.

Serve warm with rice and a salad or green vegetable. This dish has a lovely subtle flavour.

Tyler's Best Banana Muffins

2008-09-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

The original banana muffin recipe came from a former boss, a school principal. I've changed it over the years to suit my family. Every Saturday I used to make 2 dozen of these muffins to see us through the week. My son Tyler always helped. Finally at age 10 (in Grade 6) he tackled the recipe entirely on his own (except for putting in and taking out of the oven).

The first time he made them on his own, he couldn't read my writing and thought it called for 3 to 4 cups of sugar. When he doubled the recipe he put in 8 cups of sugar. In reality I'd written 3/4 of a cup.... We had quite a mess in the oven as the muffins turned to candy and overflowed. So I call these Tyler's Best Banana Muffins. After the first disastrous experience, he baked delicious muffins for the family every Saturday.

Here is the recipe for 2 dozen muffins

Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl put 3 large ripe bananas, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 2 beaten eggs, 1/3 cup of melted butter, and 1/3 cup applesauce. Mix these with a large fork. Do NOT use an electric beater!! Keep the bananas a little chunky, you don't want mush.

Dry Ingredients

In a smaller bowl put 3 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp baking powder. Mix well with a spoon or spatula.

Pour dry into wet and mix with a large spoon or spatula until there are no white bits. Do not use an electic beater, you must mix this by hand.

Grease muffin pans for 24 muffins, or use the paper muffin inserts. I use a spray canola oil to grease my pans

Bake in a pre-heated 350' oven for 20 minutes. Watch these carefully after the first 15 minutes as they can dry out or turn brown very quickly. Make sure the oven rack is mid-way up the oven

Note: Sometimes I replace a bit of the flour mixture with 1 tbsp soya milk powder and as much spelt flour as suits my fancy that day.

Ollie's Broccoli Bean Salad

2008-09-06T17:11:00.001-07:00

This is an easy to make Broccoli-Bean-Tomato Salad. Make it spicy or mild, it's your choice

Ingredient list

2 fresh tomatoes or 12 cherry tomatoes or a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes (you only need 1 cup from this)
2 cloves of garlic
1 14 oz can of white beans
salt and pepper
cumin
hot pepper flakes
goat's milk parmesan cheese

Here's what you do:

Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep fry pan or wok. On medium heat stir in 2-4 minced cloves of garlic. Let it heat for about one minute then add 1 large head of broccoli, rinsed and coarsely chopped. Add a little salt and pepper and if you like spicy, add some hot pepper flakes. You can also add a bit of cumin (about 1/2 tsp) Stir fry for 5 minutes or until broccoli is slightly wilted.

Remove the broccoli to a casserole or serving dish.

Now you can either use fresh tomatoes or you can cheat and used canned diced tomatoes. If you are using fresh, put about 1 tbsp. olive oil in the wok and add 2 chopped tomatoes or the dozen cherry tomatoes. Stir fry for about 7 minutes. Then add one 14 oz. can of white beans which have been rinsed and drained. Stir fry for about 3 minutes then remove from heat and pour over the broccoli.

If you are using canned diced tomatoes, use a slotted spoon to remove about 1 cup of tomatoes from the can. Put them in the fry pan and heat with one 14 oz. can of white beans which have been rinsed and drained. Stir fry for about 3 minutes then remove from heat and pour over the broccoli.

Sprinkle goat's milk parmesan cheese on top. Serve hot.

Roast Chicken with Vegetables

2008-09-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

I love this dish. It's so easy and yummy! Plus there are leftovers which is always a bonus.

To make this supper for your family, you will need the following:

1 roasting chicken, whatever size you like. We use our own farm-fresh meat chickens, but you can also purchase a roast chicken from the grocery store

carrots cut into medium size chunks
Potatoes cut into medium size chunks
2 onions, quartered

Fine herbes, salt, pepper
White wine

Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of white wine over. Wash and prepare the carrots and potatoes, then place them around the chicken. Put in the onions, then sprinkle with generous amount of fine herbes, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover then cook in a 350' oven using the formula of 25 minutes per pound. For the last 30 minutes of cooking you need to remove the lid.

You can see what the chicken should look like when cooked but not dry! The skin should be nicely browned, the legs falling apart slightly.

You can add any other vegetables you like, my family prefers the simplicity of carrots and potatoes.

I save the chicken carcass and the liquid to make chicken soup. You can make a gravy out of the liquid if you prefer.

Ollie's 3-Cheese Mac & Cheese

2008-08-13T11:41:00.001-07:00

I love Macaroni & Cheese. There's nothing more satisfying or comforting than a big scoop of bubbling Mac & Cheese when you are sick or cold or just feeling yukky!

Cook 4 cups elbow macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water. When the water starts to boil, put the uncooked pasta in, bring back to boil, reduce heat to rolling boil and cook for 8 more minutes. Test the cooked pasta to be sure it is the consistency you want! Drain the pasta and dump into a 9x12 inch lasagne pan. You can use other pastas, just make sure they will let the cheese sauce cling.

Make the cheese sauce. Put 1/3 cup of margarine into a large deep pan and melt over meduium heat. When bubbling, add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour which you have pre-mixed with 1 tsp dry hot mustard, 1 tsp fine herbes and salt and pepper to taste. I use Keene's Mustard, you can use whatever you like. You can add 2 tsp dry mustard if you like a little more bite in your Mac & Cheese.

Mix the flour-mustard into the hot margarine and continue to cook on medium heat until it all clumps together into little segments of margarine-flour bits. This is called a roux and is what makes your cheese sauce thicken.

Now slowly start adding 2% milk, stirring like crazy the whole time. Just add 1/3 cup to start and keep stirring until it is completely mixed with the flour-margarine clumps. Add another 1/3 cup of milk. Keep adding milk and stirring until you have a nice smooth sauce starting to take shape. You will need to add about 3 cups of milk total.

You must keep stirring so the sauce stays smooth and no lumps form. Now add cheeses and stil until cheese melts into the white sauce. I use Colby, Cheddar and Monterey Jack, about 5 cups total. Either grate the cheeses or do what I do and buy the bags of pre-grated! I use about 2 cups Cheddar, 1 1/2 cups Colby and 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta in your baking dish and mix it all up.

Now make large croutons for the top. There are many methods of making the crouton layer. I like to use white sub rolls and cut them into large 1 inch squares. Using a small fry pan, melt 1/3 cup margarine over medium heat and add 1 tsp fine herbes. Reduce heat and toss the bread cubes into the margarine. Turn and coat all sides, and continue cooking briefly until the croutons start to crisp a bit. Then pour croutons on top of cheese-past mixture in baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350' and cook, uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbly and the croutons are just starting to brown.

Serve with a salad and ketchup. Yes, ketchup. Macaroni and cheese is always eaten with ketchup. If you don't like that idea, have it without but you don't know what you're missing.

Setting a Spring or Easter Theme Table

2008-08-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

The photos here show more of a Spring Theme Table Setting rather than Easter, but you could easily nudge it into Easter with a few minor changes. The eggs in the centrepiece I've chosen to use, already say "Easter", so just switch out a few of the more formal Spring pieces such as the salt and pepper shakers in the next photo, for Easter.

This centrepiece is one of two I have for Spring Tables. I find my table setting accessories in junk stores, flea markets and antique stores, but I don't pay much for them! This object caught my eye because of its colours. I knew I could fill it with coloured eggs or flowers or anything I wanted, and create a pretty centrepiece. My second centrepiece for Spring is on the right

The ornate salt and pepper shakers and Victorian covered butter dish go well with a more formal Spring Table - for example, a nice luncheon with your lady friends.

Remember to stick with one theme and one colour scheme. I am using pink and green with a Spring theme, and I've decided to go slightly formal. If I went pink and green with Spring but casual, my table setting accessories would have to reflect that. So I could get rid of the formal butter dish and replace it with a nice little solid green depression glass open dish with butter in it.

On this table I have fancy teacups (again in pink and green) for my rather formal luncheon but if it were more casual I would change them. I'll show photos of a more casual Spring/Easter table in another post. I also have old mismatched china in a variety of designs, but all carrying the pink and green colour theme. Because this is a more formal table setting, I've also added the Victorian candle snuffer (it looks like a pair of scissors and is in front of the centrepiece).

You can also see the two different napkin holders I am using - the rabbit is for children and the Victorian figural bird theme one for adults. I could use the rabbit holders for everyone, adults and children alike.

Because I'm using a lot of different patterns and shades of pink and green, I would calm everything down slightly by using some solid colours - such as solid green glass depression glass serving dishes. I like to use my green depression glass mixing bowls that I showed in my Trifle Recipe on this blog. I'd also use solid green candles in a formal candleholder (still sticking with the formal idea)

I should add that the napkin pictured here is one of the many vintage and antique white linen napkins I buy. They don't have to match or be the same size, how easy is that!

Likewise, the water jug is one of four I have which are clear Depression Glass Water pitchers. I like my water jugs to match so over the years I've managed to find four with the same pattern. I only buy ones with small imperfections so that I am not paying huge dollars for them!

Ollie's Herbed Croutons

2008-08-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

I don't like store-bought croutons. For the most part they are hard little chunks of toasted bread. I like my croutons crisp (not hard) on the outside with a semi-soft center. I like them large. Having hunted for years to find just the right croutons to suit me, I gave up and started making my own. These last for a month or more when stored in an air-tight container.

Ollie's Herbed Croutons
Use one loaf of thick white bread - you can use sourdough or any other kind you like but I use white. You can use ordinary bread or specialty breads such as a French loaf. It's your choice!

In a small measuring cup or custard dish, put 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste (I often omit the salt and pepper as the salad I'm going to use the croutons on is salty enough), 2 tsp. fine herbes.

Preheat oven to 350'

Put the bread slices on a large cutting board and with a pastry brush, brush the olive oil mixture on one side. Then using a serated knife, cut the oiled bread slices into chunks - whatever size you prefer. (If you have trouble cutting the bread once it's oiled, just leave the slices whole until they are baked, then cut them) Put the oiled bread cubes on a non-greased cookie sheet (oiled side up) and bake in the over for 10-20 minutes.

I like my croutons lightly browned, not too dark so I have to watch carefully and remove them at just the right moment.

Let the croutons cool completely before storing them or they will go soggy. These are wonderful served on caesar salad!

Pastitsio

2008-08-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

Warning! This recipe is very fussy and takes a long time to prepare. Don't start it if you aren't willing to go the distance, because you can't take shortcuts. Pastitisio is a Greek dish, a casserole with layers of pasta covered in creamy sauce and a meat sauce layer. The traditional Pastitsio calls for ground beef but I make mine with ground turkey or chicken.

Pastitsio

1 tbsp. vegetable oil (I use Canola)

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lb ground turkey or chicken

2 tsp of fresh oregano and basil. If you haven't got fresh, use 1 tsp each of dried

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 each salt, pepper, white sugar

1 tsp fresh thyme. If you haven't got fresh, use 1/2 tsp dried

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 can (19 oz) tomatoes, well mashed

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

The above ingredients are for the meat sauce you will be making. Here's the pasta sauce ingredients:

2 1/2 cups large bow tie shells. You can use a different pasta if you prefer but be sure it is a pasta that will hold the creamy sauce

1/2 cup butter (I use margarine)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 1/2 cups milk. I use skim, you will get a richer flavour if you use 2%

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

bit of pepper

2 eggs. I use our own farm fresh eggs. If you don't have a chicken or two wandering around in your yard and you need help figuring out which eggs to buy in the grocery store, see my post Getting it Eggsactly Right!

1 cup creamed Cottage Cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella Cheese

1/4 grated Goat's Milk Parmesan Cheese. I use Goat's Milk Parmesan for a delicous flavour but you can use any kind you like

Method:

In Dutch oven heat oil over meidum heat. Saute the onion and minced garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Don't let them brown! They only need to be soft. Add the ground turkey and cook for about 3 minutes or until no more pink shows. Stir in the oregano, basil, cinnamon, salt, pepper, sugar and thyme. Cook for 3 more minutes

Add wine, tomato paste, and mashed tomatoes. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes uncovered. Add the parsley and set aside

Pasta Sauce:

In large pot of boiling lightly salted water cook the pasta about 8 minutes, just until tender but still firm. Drain. Transfer to large bolw and toss with 1 tbsp of the butter or margarine. Set aside

In heavy saucepan melt the rest of the butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Do not brown. Gradually stir in the milk and cook for 3 minutes until thickened. Stir in salt, nutmeg and pepper

In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot cream sauce and return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook for 2 minutes stirring. Take from heat and add cottage cheese and mozzarella. Stir this into the pasta.

Now spread 1/2 of the pasta mixture into a 13x9 glass baking dish. Spread meat filling over the top. Spread the rest of the pasta mixture over the meat. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 375' for 1 hour. Top needs to be lightly browned. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I serve this with a nice Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread with Goat's Milk Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers.

Getting it Eggsactly Right

2008-08-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

Photo of Barnyard co-operation. These are a few of our laying hens (chickens), guinea fowl and rabbits, all of which roam freely on our hobby farm.

We have laying hens. Our eggs are always fresh and our chickens are free range, meaning they roam the property eating bugs, seeds, worms and everything that chickens are meant to eat. This affects the taste and colour of the eggs - they are stronger flavoured than store-bought and have darker, almost orange yolks.

If you haven't got laying hens in the backyard, buy whatever eggs you want. It's a myth that brown eggs are better than white. They are brown because the hen laying them had brown feathers, no other reason. White eggs are from a hen with white feathers. The colour of the eggs does not affect the flavour nor does it mean that one is healthier or better than the other.

Free-range eggs from a grocery store don't mean much flavour-wise but it does mean the chickens have not been kept in little boxes barely able to move. So if you're in favour of being kind to chickens, buy free-range.

Only a local farmer will have true free-range eggs because that means the chickens (like ours) range free and eat whatever they find outside.

Organic eggs may be better for you but flavour-wise there is no difference.

Setting the Table: Napkin Rings

2008-08-03T11:26:00.001-07:00

For me, cooking and eating a good meal is only part of the overall experience. I like to set a pretty table too. You probably have your own creative ways and lots of pretty things to put on the table but I thought I"d share mine, starting with napkin rings.

I should explain first that I like to use mismatched old china and mismatched Victorian Silver-Plated Napkin Rings. And antique water goblets. And various mismatched antique and vintage dishes. Sounds a little weird? I think you might like it if you try. You have to remember that you need a theme and/or a colour scheme to tie everything together.

I buy antique and vintage white linen napkins and Victorian Napkin Rings (either figural or plain) to add a little bit of formality to my table settings. The napkins don't have to match but you do have to pick one colour and stick to it. I chose white as I like to have patterns and other colours in the dishes and the centerpiece. You don't want to go too wild with a riot of colour and pattern!

We'll talk more about themes and colour schemes later but since I have some photos of my assorted napkin rings ready, I'm going to start with that. On the left you can see my plain Victorian napkin rings which I display in a Victorian Bride's Basket which is missing it's glass bowl, until I need them.

The fun part is that at Christmas I let my grandchildren choose which napkin ring they want to use. They love that and even though I have special children's pewter napkin rings in various animal and Christmas shapes, they often choose one of the silver-plated figurals.

I use both Figural and plain napkin rings. The plain ones are much cheaper and you can often find those at flea markets and antique stores for a very reasonable price. Take them home and clean them up a bit and you have a very unique conversation piece!

The figurals are stunning and they always spark a lively conversation at the dinner table. Figurals are quite sought after by collectors so they can fetch a high price. You need to have a sharp eye and be on the lookout for a bargain at flea markets, junk stores and antique stores. Avoid E-Bay as they go for far too much there!

There are many kinds of napkin rings and the photos I've put here are just a few of the ones I have on hand for creating a unique table setting. Once you place a beautiful crisp clean white linen napkin in one of these and put it on the table, it looks gorgeous. I'll add some photos of a table once it's set in another post.

Helena's Dumplings

2008-07-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

My husband loves dumplings. He would eat them with anything but I generally only make them with my Slow Cooker Stew (see recipe). My mother-in-law gave me this recipe and I love it.

Helena's Dumplings

1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder, heaped
1 tsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.

Pour in 1/2 cup milk. I use 2% for extra creaminess, you can use whatever you like! Mix with a fork until there are no dry bits anywhere. Take a large spoon and drop spoonfuls of the mixture on top of gently bubbling stew (or whatever you are adding the dumplings to). Don't let the dumplings touch each other. Cover and steam them for a good 15 minutes. Resist the urge to peek or you will ruin the dumplings!

Ollie's Slow Cooker Stew

2008-07-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing about stew. I hate tough meat. I hate chewy meat. If I'm eating red meat (something I seldom do), I want it to melt in my mouth with tenderness. I don't want to work hard at anything I'm about to ingest. So, I don't use stewing beef. I don't care how long it's simmered, to me it is tough meat. I use Top Sirloin and cut it myself into the size cubes I like. You might think some of the ingredients I use a little odd, but try it, you might like it!

Take 1 lb Top Sirloin and cut into chunks. The size of chunks is a personal preference! Toss them into your slow cooker and sprinkle on about 1/4 cup white flour. Now add 1 can of consomme and stir. Start your slow cooker on medium while you get the rest of the stew goodies ready.

Add 1/2 cup wine to the slow cooker. I use white wine which most people think is "wrong" but I prefer it to red. You can use whatever you want!

Now we are going to add a few different items, and I don't measure these so can only give you guestimates. Put in several squeezes of HP Sauce, Bold. I'm guessing it's about 1/2 cup. You want enough to give your stew a "bite" but not so much it is overpowering. Shake in several shakes of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce. Again, you want enough for some zing in your stew. Okay we have the bite and zing, on to the rest.

You will want to season the stew next. I use about 4 tsp of Fine Herbes (McCormick's) plus salt and pepper to taste. I put the following vegetables in my stew but you can use any vegetables you like.

* Carrots, thick chunked. I use about 5-6 medium size
* Parsnips, about half the size of the carrots. I use about 3 medium size parsnips. Try to buy them rather thin rather than the thick ones you often see in the store. If you have to buy the thick ones, be sure you cut the core out as it can be woody and just not the best part of the parsnip to eat.
* Onions, thick chunked or sliced, whichever you prefer. Don't chop them too small or they will cook too fast and go mushy. I use 1-2
* Potatoes. I use Yukon Gold, thick chunked. I don't like a lot of potato in my stew so I only use about 4 medium size ones. You can use more if you like more!
* 2 stalks of Celery cut in slices

These vegetables can be added about an hour after the meat has been started. Set your slow cooker on medium for about 6 hours. About a half hour before the stew is done, I like to add a few frozen niblets corn (3/4 cup). Then I make Helena's Dumplings (see recipe), add them to the top and let everything simmer in the slow cooker for another 30-45 minutes. Dumplings are tricky to make in the slow cooker so you do have to keep checking to see if they are cooked through.

I sometimes serve this with buttered rolls although you really don't have to since the dumplings and potatoes are a very filling carbohydrate.

Diana's Trifle

2008-07-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

I love Trifle. It's a rich English dessert and is absolutely yummy when made correctly. You can not take shortcuts with Trifle! No cheating allowed - no instant puddings, no Cool Whip or Canned Whip Cream. Please! If you are going to make Trifle, take your time and enjoy the experience.

This Trifle Recipe is a mixture of my former English sister-in-law Diana's recipe, and mine. I use Ladyfingers, Diana uses Swiss Jelly Roll (kind of cheating?)

TRIFLE

Take a Swiss Roll & Jam. Slice it and put in the bottom of a huge glass bowl, also up the sides until the bottom and sides are covered. I use a beautiful antique crystal punch bowl given to me by my mother-in-law. The dish you use to make the Trifle in is important as half the enjoyment of Trifle is in the display before it is eaten.

Pour a generous 1/2 cup of very good Sherry over the Swiss Roll.

Make red jello (I use Raspberry flavour) using 1/2 cup less water than called for. Before it sets completely but when it is cool, pour it over the Swiss Roll.

Decide what fruit you will use in your Trifle. Please, no canned fruit! I use raspberries but you can use strawberries if you like. There are some lovely frozen fruits available now so you can make your Trifle even in the middle of winter.

Place the fresh or frozen fruit over the red jellow. When the red jello is set, make green jello (lime flavour) being sure to use about 1/2 cup less water than called for. When the green jello is cool, but not set, pour it over the fresh fruit and red jello in your bowl.

When the green jello is completely set, make your custard. Diana swears that Bird's Custard is the only one you must use; I prefer Horne's Custard. Make about 2 cups of custard following the directions on the box or canister of custard powder. You want the custard to be quite thick. When it is cool but not completely set, pour it over the jello. When the custard is completely set, make whip cream using a medium-size carton of whipping cream. Add a little bit of fine sugar to the whip cream if you like it a bit sweeter.

Spread the whipped cream on top of your bowl and then decorate with shaved chocolate.

This is such a beautiful dessert, you won't want to dish it up to your guests!

Kak's Beef Barley Soup

2008-07-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

My husband's grandmother taught me how to make delicious soups. Here is her recipe for Beef Barley Soup, slightly modified by me to suit our tastes.

Beef-Barley Soup

Use 6 cups of Beef or Vegetable Stock which has had the fat removed (see my recipe). Place in a large pot on top of stove or in slow cooker.

Add the following ingredients:

* Thin bits of leftover beef. If you made your stock with beef bones that had some meat still on them, you can strain and shred and save the meat for this soup. I don't use much meat in mine, in fact I almost always leave it out and turn this into a nice vegetable soup.
* 2 Onions, finely chopped or in thin slices.
* 2 carrots, french cut
* 1 stalk of celery, small chunks
* 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped very fine, then smushed. (that's my word for mashing and making something mushy)
* 1 Tbsp Fine Herbes
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 Knorr-Swiss Beef Cubes
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* Rinsed barley, about 1/2 cup
* Any other vegetables that suit your fancy, remembering to adjust their size for cooking times (there's nothing worse than mushy vegeys!) or to put them in the pot at different times so as to not overcook. Sometimes I toss in leftover green beans (but added much later to the pot so they don't go mushy) or even a very small amount of brussel sprouts. They're a strong flavour so be careful if adding them

Less is more in this soup. It will look like you haven't got enough vegetables but trust me - you do.

If cooking on top of stove, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 2 hours. If using slow cooker set to medium and cook for about 5 hours.

You can serve this soup with mozzarella cheese grated in thin strands on top, or grated parmesan cheese, and a nice dinner roll or country style biscuit

Ollie's Beef or Vegetable Soup Stock

2008-07-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Over the years I've figured out how to make pretty decent stock for soup. Here's my method:

1. Save all water from boiled vegetables. Freeze in a container until needed for your stock.

2. Put about 6 - 8 cups of vegetable water in a large pot.

3. Add the following ingredients -

2 large stalks of celery, cut into halves. Throw in the celery leaves too!
1 large carrot, washed and peeled, cut in half
2 onions cut into quarters
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp fine herbes
fresh parsley if you have it
2 Knorr-Swiss beef cubes

4. Bring to boil then simmer (covered) for about 2 hours. Strain and reserve to make Beef or Vegetable soup.

You can also toss in a few beef bones for extra flavouring. If you have leftover meat that has the bone in, you can toss that in, as the meat will fall off the bone during simmering. Then you can cut the meat into strips for a Beef Barley Soup (see my recipe)

Ollie's Turkey Lasagne

2008-07-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of a red meat eater so I generally use ground turkey in any recipe calling for ground beef. You can also use ground chicken but I like turkey as it has a slightly stronger flavour.

Here's a recipe I created using various other lasagne recipes and trial and error. It's generally a pretty big hit at family functions.

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that I rarely use a recipe to make my specialities. I've been making them for so long I don't measure or have a list of ingredients. I just do it! So when my step-daughter requested the recipe, I had to actually make the lasagne, stopping to write down what I was doing and how much I was using of each ingredient. I hope you enjoy!

This goes well with a nice Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread.

Mixture:
* 2 pkgs ground turkey, sauteed and drained (Keep the fat)
* 4-6 large mushrooms (1 c?) chunked
* 1/2-1 c. celery (2 stalks) small slices, sautee with the onions
* 1-2 onions chunked or sliced, your choice. Saute in the reserved fat until translucent
* Cottage Cheese - 1 big tub + smaller one (you can use 2 big ones if you like lots)
* Ricotta Cheese - 1/2 the amount of Cottage cheese
* Grated cheese - 1 pkg (200 grams) of pre grated cheddar cheese
* Grated cheese - 2 pkgs of the pre grated 3 cheese (mozzarella, cheddar+ colby) (about 3-4 cups)
* Oven ready lasagne, 1- 2 pkgs

Sauce:
* 2 cans diced tomatoes (seasoned with herbs if you can find them)
* Sauteed meat
* Sauteed onions
* Sauteed Celery
* Mushrooms
* 1 TBSP Demerara sugar (or Sugar in the Raw but not plain white)
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1-2 TBSP Fines Herbes (I like McCormick's Gourmet Fine Herbes)
* 2 garlic cloves minced (I use large cloves)
* 1/4-1/2 cup white wine

Mix together on stove top, bring to boil, simmer gently with lid off for 10-15 min. Use a lasagne pan. I use the disposable tin foil ones, this makes 2 to 3 pans. Layer in each pan. Remember you have to divide the totals by 2 or 3 depending how many pans you're making. I make this using 2 pans, and divide everything in half so it has thick layers, the way we like it.

Now put in one scoop of sauce to wet the bottom, followed by the folling layers:

* Lasagne noodles
* Cottage cheese
* Ricotta Cheese
* Meat Tomato sauce
* grated cheese

Repeat layers starting with the lasagne noodles. Do as many layers as you like. I end with grated cheese on top, lots, so that it is covered. After each meat-tomato layer I put in, I often add a bit more Fine Herbes on top

Cook in oven, not covered, for 30-35 min til cheese on top melts. Let this sit for a day if possible before serving and eating. as it melds the flavours and cuts better after 24 hours.

Kak's Cukes

2008-07-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

My husband's grandmother taught me how to make this dish. It's wonderful served at Thanksgiving or Christmas as it adds a lovely spot of colour to the table. It also tastes great!

2 English cucumbers, sliced thin and covered with salt. Let sit in a bowl overnight in fridge.

The next morning, run the sliced salted cucumbers under cold water as you squeeze the moisture out of them.

This is a crucial step in the process as you want to get rid of the rather bitter juice from the cucumber (the salt draws it out) but you also want to get rid of the excess moisture from the water. Don't use all your pumped up muscles to do this, just wring gently or you will have nothing more than shredded ripped bits of cucumber.

Put the rinsed and wrung-out cukes in your serving bowl. I use an antique glass dish from the set you can see in the photo. For those who, like me, love antiques, these bowls are Depression Glass Mixing Bowls in green.

I have several different sizes and they make gorgeous serving dishes at Christmas. I also have several in clear glass for such items as Cranberry Sauce which looks much prettier in white or clear. But I digress! Back to Kak's Cukes.

Wash and chop 2 green onions (or as many as you need to make 1 cup) and sprinkle on top of cucumber.

Now you are ready to make the liquid which is poured over top of the cukes and green onions. Take 2 Tbps white sugar and 3 Tbps white vinegar and combine. You have to start tasting this mixture. It must be sweet to the taste before you take the next step! If it is too vinegary, add a tad more sugar. Too sweet? Add more vinegar. Be careful and add in tiny bits, a smidgeon at a time until it is just right to your taste.

Now add 1 small carton of whipping cream to the sugar-vinegar mixture. Stir then pour over the cucumber-onion mixture. Add black pepper to taste, stir and leave overnight in fridge.

It is ready to serve the next day as a wonderful side dish for your fancy Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.

Bonnie's Roasted Garlic Soup

2008-07-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

Vampires Beware! My sister in law Bonnie makes this wicked Garlic Soup. It sounds dreadful - so much garlic - but it's wonderful.

Roasted Garlic Soup with Herbed Croutons

2 heads garlic, left whole and unpeeled
4 1/2 cups Chicken stock, reduced
2 Tbps. butter
1 Tbsp fresh dill weed, chopped
3 slices whole wheat bread cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 c. dry white wine
salt to taste
1/2 c. grated provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 350' Cut tops off garlic heads so that the top of most of the cloves are visible. Place upright in shallow 8-cup casserole dish. Pour 1/2 cup of stock over bulbs and bake for 1 hour. let bulbs cool then squeeze garlic puree out

Melt butter in large fry pan. Stir in dill, add bread cubes and toss for 5 minutes. Set aside when crisp

In saucepan combine 4 cups of stock, the garlic puree, wine and salt. Boil. Pour hot soup into soup bowls. Add croutons and cheese. Broil for 3 minutes. Serves 4.

This is wonderful served with a salad and rolls. I swear it cures a cold.

Blueberry Tower of Pancakes (TOPS)

2008-06-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is just kind of a fun thing to make on a Sunday morning (late, not early!). We call it TOPS for Tower of Pancakes.

Basically you just take Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake Mix and follow the directions to make pancakes.

Then using top quality frozen blueberries, you drain the juice and put about 1/2 cup blueberries into the pancake batter. Now comes the tricky part.

You will need 2 pans which you have buttered and heated on the stove. Drop the pancake batter into the pans, making decreasing size circles of batter. We usually make 5 circles of decreasing size, like that Fisher Price toddler toy where you (I mean, the child!) drops the rings onto the spike so that a pyramid of rings is created from large to small.

Cook the pancakes until you see bubbles and then flip them over. Cook until golden brown. Meantime heat another 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries in the microwave, just to warm them up.

Place the cooked pancakes on a plate, creating a tower from largest to smallest. Place a dollop of butter or margarine between each pancake. Carefully pour the warmed blueberries on top, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. I learned the hard way that blueberry juice stains so be careful pouring those warmed blueberries on top as they tend to roll off and somehow splash up, ruining your best top.

Using genuine Maple Syrup (you know, the kind you get from Canada or Vermont), not that horrid liquid that is most often served in restaurants, pour over the pancakes. Use as much or as little as you like. I want every bite of pancake to have some maple syrup so I use a lot.

You can eat these alone (they're very filling!) or cook up bacon or sausage to accompany this special treat.

Grandma Ruth's Spotted Dick

2008-06-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

I swear that is what this dish is called. It is a type of Suet Pudding which my English Grandmother made it all the time. When I was newly married she passed her recipe on to me. Grandma was born in 1894 and this was made by her mother for the boarding house she ran in Ramsgate England.

Please, if you do decide to make this, have the paramedics standing by to jump start your heart! I'm including it here in Ollie's Yummy in Your Tummy because it's a genealogy ancestor recipe. I haven't made Spotted Dick in years so the only photo I have is from the Internet

SPOTTED DICK

Mix flour and suet in equal amounts. (Yes Suet - like you feed to the birds!)

Add enough water to mix until it all holds together

Add raisins or dates if you want to make Spotted Dick. If you are making plain suet pudding, don't add them

Take a tea-towel (does everyone know what a tea-towel is? My American friend Kathi did not know) and spread it on the counter, then roll out the mixture and roll it up inside the tea-towel like a jelly roll

Pin the ends together so it doesn't fall open

Put the tea-towel with mixture into a large pan, cover with water and boil it for 3 hours on top of the stove. You can also steam the tea-towel mixture over a large pan of boiling water.

Serve warm or cold with custard on top. Grandma's mother (my great-grandmother) served her Spotted Dick cold with butter and brown sugar, sure to be an instant heart attack!

Ollie's Folly

2008-06-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we were in a restaurant and had a wonderfully refreshing drink made of Sprite, Orjange Juice and Cranberry Juice. It looked pretty too, each layer was separate in the glass when served so there was a band of orange, white and red. As usual when we got home I began experimenting until I figured out how to create the drink so the bands of liquid stayed separated. I was never very good at Science so it took me quite awhile to figure out that to stop the liquids from mixing you have to pour them on to the ice and not into the other liquids!

Pour in equal amounts of Sprite, Orange Juice and Cranberry Juice over a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Be sure to pour the liquids in the following order (Cranberry Juice, Orange Juice then Sprite), making sure that each liquid pours over the ice and not directly into the liquid below it. Each band of liquid will remain separated, offering a very pretty drink to serve.

Garnish with a slice of orange on the side of the glass. Serve with a straw and allow guests to stir their own if they wish. Very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Yorkshire Pudding

2008-06-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

Yorkshire Pudding - nothing goes better with a Sunday Roast Beef Dinner. Even though my mother was not a very good cook (gasp! I can hear you all now - what mother isn't a good cook!!??? Mine.) I did enjoy our standard Sunday dinner of Roast Beef (rare) with Yorkshire Pudding.

My former mother-in-law (who was born in Halifax Yorkshire England) used to add herbs to her Yorkshire Puddings, so I've included that as an option in my own recipe. You can also make a dessert out of leftover Yorkshire Pudding (yes, really!) but we'll talk about that later. For now - the incredible Yorkshire Pudding!

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Mix 4 oz of flour with 1/2 tsp salt. [Optional: Add 1 tsp Fine Herbes, 1/2 tsp fresh Parsley and 1/4 to 1/2 of a grated onion] Make a well in the middle and add one egg and 1 TBSP Oil. Beat the mixture with a hand beater. Add 5 oz of milk. Put the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes then strain before cooking.

Rub muffin pans with lots of butter and heat them in the oven. Add a little extra oil then pour in the Yorkshire Pudding batter. Cook at 375-400' for 20 minutes.

Serve with roast beef dinner. Gravy poured over the top of a Yorkshire Pudding is delicious.