Winter's Passing

Much as I love the lengthening and warming days of spring, I feel a pang for the end of winter.  I'm never quite ready for the restfulness to end.  Spring just happens all of a sudden and we're done with the sleds and skates and mittens and racing headlong into summer projects, gardening, building, making hay while the sun shines.

Not that this winter was uneventful by any means.  Our growing baby has put a fresh outlook on things, inspiring a trip to Disney World that took us all by surprise.  I'm still not sure whose idea that was, but all of a sudden it made sense to get away with our two children for a family trip they will always remember.  And just weeks before that, my sister gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl, an inspiring event that I got to witness and that has certainly enhanced my already-strong feelings about labour and birth and the awe-inspiring power of women.

 Certainly I feel my own focus narrowing, taking care of the essentials of work and family and mostly just listening to my body's natural inclination to rest and let some things go.  It is gut-wrenching to the ambitious woman to admit that she can't do everything all at one time.  The exhilarating feeling I had in my twenties of building and growing a business while nursing two babies has given way to the realization that I can't and don't want to push the limits of my sanity anymore!  I'm not sure what that means for this blog or many of the other projects that may just simmer on the back burner for the next while.  

That doesn't mean I wasn't totally excited over two phone calls at the restaurant this week: one announcing that Den Haan's had ripe hothouse tomatoes for sale and the other that Waxwing Farm had just harvested spinach, arugula and tiny leaves of kale.  Here's a salad that can be made almost entirely with local ingredients during a Nova Scotian March.

This time last year: Union Street Salsa

Arugula, Beet and Pecan Salad 

3 medium Beets

1 small clove Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Walnut or Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
freshly ground Pepper

1/4 lb. Arugula
1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese (Holmestead is excellent)
1/2 cup toasted Pecans (optional)

First, deal with your beets.  Quarter them without peeling and place in a pot, then cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.  Or just wrap them in foil and toss them in the oven for a couple hours if you are baking something already.  When they are tender, let cool, then slip off the peels and cut the beets into thin wedges.  Meanwhile, make the dressing: whisk the salt, garlic, cider vinegar, oil, honey and mustard together in a bowl large enough to hold the beets.  Grind in some pepper and stir in the beet wedges.
Arrange the arugula leaves on a large platter, then scatter the beets on top, leaving the remaining dressing in the bowl.   Sprinkle with the feta and optional pecans, then drizzle with the remaining dressing.

Greek Vegetable Sauté

Happiness to me is cupboards full of all the ingredients I like to cook with, a variety of vegetables in the refrigerator, and a freezer stocked with good meat.  Not everyone in the world can buy quality locally grown meat as easily as we can in the Annapolis Valley.  Aside from the excellent meat shops like Meadowbrook Meat Market and Oulton's, many of us are also lucky enough to have neighbours with free range chickens, homegrown pigs, rabbits and lambs who like to share.
So this night, we had some beautiful lamb chops from our friends Stephanie and Austin (the kind of wonderfully generous friends that we should all have).  I followed a Mediterranean-inspired Gourmet recipe for the chops and wanted a side dish that would cover both the carbohydrate and vegetable aspects of our meal.  This dish combines a few of my favourite things; spinach, tomatoes and garlic; with sweet onions and sharp feta cheese.  In the coming weeks, local spinach and hothouse tomatoes will become more readily available, just in time for you make this simple and delicious dish.

This time last year: Corned Beef with Winter Vegetables

Greek Vegetable Sauté
Although we served this alongside lamb chops, this would also be lovely on its own for supper or to take to a potluck!  It's just as nice at room temperature as it is hot.

3 small Potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced  (1 cup)
1 large clove Garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 bunch Swiss Chard, sliced into ribbons
4  cups Spinach, chopped
3 Plum Tomatoes, diced in 1/2" pieces
1/2 Lemon
1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese (I love Holmestead)


Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with cold water.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, 10-15 minutes, then drain.  Meanwhile, in your largest sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and stir often until they are tender and beginning to brown.  Stir in the potato cubes, garlic, Swiss chard and salt.  Add a few tablespoonfuls of water and cover the pan to steam the chard until it is tender, about five minutes.  Uncover, add the spinach and tomatoes and toss until the spinach is wilted and liquid has evaporated.  Pile into a serving dish and squeeze the lemon juice over the sauté, then sprinkle with the crumbled feta.

Butterscotch Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie has always been the claim to fame at Union Street Cafe.  "They'll get you high with their Coconut Cream Pie" go the words of Eve Goldberg, Canadian folk singer-songwriter.  Rich coconut custard, yellow with egg yolks and butter, piled into a flaky, almost salty crust, topped with piles of whipped cream and even more toasted coconut. My sister, my aunt, myself and now my mother have baked and perfected  it over the last ten years.  We were faithful to that pie, never veering towards any variation thereof. No chocolate, banana, or butterscotch cream pie for us!  Until now.

It all started with a simple and delicious butterscotch sauce recipe that we had been making to top our sticky toffee cakes.  Inspired by the comment that eating the sauce by the spoonful was better than sex, I wanted to make a pie with the same rich caramel flavours.  I used our tried-and-true coconut custard recipe as a base and came up with this lovely treat.  It beats the pants off boxed butterscotch pudding!   So to speak.

This time last year:  Energy Balls


Butterscotch Cream Pie

1 baked 9" deep dish pie crust (Canadian Living has a great recipe)
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Butter
3/4 C. Whipping Cream
2 C. Milk
2/3 C. Flour
1/4 C. Cornstarch
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Milk
4 Egg Yolks
1 t. Vanilla

Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the bottom of a large heavy saucepan, and place over medium low heat.  The sugar will begin to melt after a minute or so.  Stir it carefully so it doesn't burn.  When it has all melted, carefully add the butter and whipping cream and stir until the hard bits of caramel have dissolved.  Raise the heat to medium high and add the two cups of milk.  Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornstarch and brown sugar together in a bowl.  Add the 1/2 cup milk and whisk until smooth.  When the mixture in the pot boils, whisk in the flour mixture and keep stirring as the filling thickens and bubbles.  Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla, then remove from the heat.  Scrape into the pie shell and let cool, then refrigerate with plastic wrap on the top for an hour or so before serving with piles of whipped cream.  This pie will keep for at least two days if refrigerated.

East Indian Split Pea Soup

A good split pea soup is one of winter's greatest pleasures.   My mom made it often when I was growing up and she still reigns as the Pea Soup (or Sea Poup, thanks Dad) Queen.  Hers used to be made with a meaty ham bone, but is now most often vegetarian, thick with sweet potato, celery, onions and carrot and spiced up with toasted cumin. At the Cafe, we've spiked our version with everything from pulled pork to maple sausage, always to good reviews.

Last week I was making shrimp curry for our buffet and wanted a soup to complement it.  Usually I make dhal, an East Indian dish often made with red lentils.  We had no lentils, but we did have lots of green split peas, and so this recipe was born.

This time last year: Cream of Valley Mushroom Soup

East Indian Split Pea Soup

You can serve this soup as is, or have fun topping it: I suggest a dollop of plain yogurt, a spoonful of mango chutney, some chopped cilantro, a few toasted cashews...


1 lb. Split Peas (Mom says yellow, I say green)
12 C. Water
1 T. Oil
1 T. Mustard Seeds
1 large Onion, diced
1 T. freshly grated Ginger
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 t. Turmeric
2 t. ground Cumin
1 T. Salt
1 medium Sweet Potato, diced
1 large Potato, diced
2 large Carrots, diced
1 large handful Spinach, chopped (optional)
1 T. Garam Masala (a blend of sweet spices, EOS and Superstore have it)

In a large pot, bring the peas and water to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour, until the peas are mostly tender.  Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over medium high heat and pour in the oil.  Add the mustard seeds.  They will toast and begin popping after a minute or so.  Reduce the heat to medium, then stir in the onion and cook until beginning to soften, about five minutes.  Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin and salt, and cook for a minute before adding the sweet potato, potato, and carrot.  Cook, stirring often, for five minutes, then shut off the heat.  When the split peas are almost tender, add the spice and vegetable mix to the pot.  Simmer for a half hour (the peas should mostly have fallen apart at this point), then check for salt and stir in the spinach and garam masala.

Season of Bread and Bonfires

 We live on the fringe of the woods, a mile's walk from the Bay of Fundy on the North Mountain.  Christmas here means a big family trip to the woods to choose a sparse-but-beautiful tree.  We're not going to miss the opportunity to build a big roaring fire to sit around.  And if you give an Osburn a fire to sit around, she's going to want a snack.  Or a full-on meal.

For this occasion, my Mom was bringing baked beans.  I wanted to bake brown bread, but with only an hour before the slated trip, that was impossible.

I flipped through a few cookbooks and adapted a beer bread recipe to suit.  It's a quick bread, so it only takes about 50 minutes from start to finish.  I added molasses and used a bottle of St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale. It baked up to be a very respectable stand in, with the added bonus of fruity, yeasty ale-iciousness.  In this season of soups and stews, a loaf of this will fit in very nicely at your next gathering or potluck.

Locally, I think this bread would be equally wonderful made with Propeller's Honey Wheat or Pale Ale, or anything you like (maybe not stout, but you never know!)  One more note: the bread disappeared before I could take a picture. Had it lasted, I would have eaten it toasted the next day with a big piece of cheese.  It will keep for a few days if given the chance.

Hoppy New Year!!


This time last year: Back to School Pancakes

Molasses and Ale Bread

1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 C. All Purpose Flour
1/2 C. Oatmeal
2 T. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
3 T. Brown Sugar
1/3 C. Molasses
1 341 ml. bottle Beer

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter a loaf pan.  In a  large bowl, whisk the flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar and salt.  Add the molasses and beer and stir until just combined.  Scrape into the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.  Cool on a rack or wrap in a towel on your way out the door!

Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

Lately all I've been wanting to eat is cake.  I daydream about cupcakes piled high with frosting, layers of chocolate and cream, caramel sauce, raspberries. lemon curd.  I've been firing up my oven at bedtime to make a quick batch of brownies and almost bought a box of crunch donuts from the grocery store last week.  I am pregnant.

Since I've been rather absent here for the last few weeks, it should come as no surprise that I really haven't been doing much cooking.  Nothing I really want to share with you, or even admit to.  But now I'm feeling better and more energetic every day, and I've even started stocking my fridge with vegetables again! 

Pregnant or not, most of us could stand to eat a little healthier.  I'm not saying that the following recipe is actually good for you, but it certainly is better for you than some of the alternatives.  The pumpkin makes the cake very moist and rich-tasting, despite the fact that there is less fat and sugar in there than in other cakes.  The glaze adds a sugary, buttery flavour without being piled half an inch thick.  The recipe makes enough batter for 1 cake and a dozen muffins to freeze and dole out in lunchbags.

If you're energetic, try roasting your own pumpkin or buttercup squash, it will make the very best cake.  You will note that this recipe uses a whole large can of pure pumpkin, rather than leaving you with leftovers. 

This time last year: Roasted Moroccan Carrot Salad

Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
makes 1 cake and 12 muffins

2 C. Sugar (I use Just Us!)
1 C. Canola Oil
6 Eggs
1 T. Vanilla
3 C. cooked and mashed Pumpkin  (or 1 large can)
4 C. Flour (try 2 C. white and 2 C. whole wheat)

4 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Baking Powder
2 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Ginger
1/4 t. Cloves
1/2 t. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter a bundt or other large cake pan, and a 12 cup muffin tin (or use paper liners).  In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Add the pumpkin and whisk to combine well.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and whisk just until combined.  Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full, then scrape the remaining batter into the cake pan.  Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes and the cake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes clean.  Let cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan.  Make the glaze, then drizzle it over the cake and muffins.

for the Brown Butter Glaze

2 T. Butter
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 C. Milk
1 1/2 C. Icing Sugar

Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Watch as it melts, bubbles, and begins to brown.  Whisk in the brown sugar, cook another 30 seconds, than remove from the heat and beat in the milk and icing sugar.

Curried Quinoa and Fruit Salad

My restaurant, the Union Street Cafe, offers a popular daily Lunch Buffet.  We serve a delicious hot entree like Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna or Handmade Pizza , a Made-From-Scratch Soup and a lineup of at least five Salads.  On the weekends, we switch to brunch offerings including Fishcakes, Walnut Crusted French Toast, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon and Baked Beans and make sure there is fruit in the salad line-up.

Over the years, we've gotten many recipe requests for customer favourites!  My policy on recipe sharing is simple: if I've got the recipe, I'll share it.  The problem is, many of these salads are inspired by what's in the kitchen that day and aren't written down.  Some glorious inventions have been made once, devoured, and never recorded. We're working hard to change that by keeping a book of notes right next to the salad bowls.  If something works, I take quick notes on what went into it so it can be re-created.

This is the most recently requested recipe, and it is supremely tasty.  It's also my sister Meagan's favourite buffet salad!  The curry powder is cooked right along with the super-healthy quinoa (an infyooosion, as kitchen gals Annette and Alexis call it) and then mixed with other lovely things like pineapple and dried cranberries.  It is a lovely home for local fruit in season and can likely survive any adaptation you can throw at it.  You can bring it to a potluck, serve it as a side dish, or make it into a lovely wrap with chicken and greens tucked inside, like Meagan would do.

This time last year: Pear and Ricotta Upside Down Cake and Sausage Stuffed Squash 

Curried Quinoa and Fruit Salad

If you haven't cooked with quinoa before, this is a great way to start!

1 C. Quinoa
2 C. Water
1 T. Curry Powder
1 t. Salt
1 stalk Celery, diced
1/4 C. minced Red Onion
1/2 C. minced Red Pepper
1 C. Seedless Grapes, cut in half (if you have all day)
1 C. fresh Pineapple, diced or 1 C. diced Apple
1/4 C. dried Cranberries
1/4 C. Almonds
2 T. Honey
1/3 C. Canola Oil or Mayo
2 T. Lemon Juice

Combine the quinoa, water, curry powder and salt in a small heavy pot.  Bring to a boil, covered, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook another twenty minutes.  Turn off the heat and let stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  In a large bowl, combine  the celery, red onion, red pepper, grapes, pineapple, cranberries and almonds.  In a small bowl, whisk the honey, oil or mayo, and lemon juice until smooth.  When the quinoa has cooled (you can spread it out on a tray to hurry it along if you like), crumble it into the bowl and add the dressing.  Toss gently to combine, taste, adding a little more lemon or honey if you like, then serve.