"Jenny's cookbook is full of heart and soul" Chef Michael Smith

Monday, June 28, 2010

Big Bunches of Greens

My garden gives me great joy, but sometimes overwhelms me with too much of a good thing. I've also found the same thing true at farmer's markets. There is so much beauty I want to take it all home, but if I do it without a plan, it might go to waste. This recipe is for such times as you find yourself with the desirable problem of too many fresh greens in your fridge. It's filling and stew-y, but also very rustic Italian and sophisticated. I can't help but feel good about life when I eat this. Warning: Eat it for lunch and you might find yourself justifying a half glass of red wine at noon. You're welcome.


Summer Solstice Soup of Garden Greens and White Beans
Don't worry if you're missing something. Either substitute another green, like Swiss Chard, Arugula, or Mustard, or leave it out.

2 T. Olive Oil
1 small Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, sliced
a handful of Garlic Scapes, chopped
1 small bunch Kale, sliced into ribbons
3 C. Chicken or Veggie Broth, or Water
1 small bunch Broccoli Raab, stems and leaves separated and chopped
½ lb. Asparagus, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 can White Kidney Beans
3 T. Chopped Parsley
1 T. Fresh chopped Thyme
½ lb. Spinach, chopped
Salt and Pepper
3 Tomatoes, diced
freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Basil

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or so, until nicely browned and fragrant. Turn the heat to medium- high and add the garlic scapes and kale. After a minute, stir in the broth or water. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the kale is nearly tender. Add the broccoli raab stems, asparagus, white beans, parsley and thyme. Stir and cook uncovered until the raab is tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the spinach and broccoli raab leaves and turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in big bowls with chopped tomato and grated Parmesan on top, and basil if you've got it.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Emergency Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Birthday Cake

Last Monday was my cousin Melyssa's birthday. At 6:00, I realized I hadn't planned to bring anything to eat to her celebration, and that wasn't gonna fly with the food appreciators and pregnant ladies expected to be in attendance. Also, I wasn't sure if anyone was bringing a birthday cake! I was due to arrive at the festivities an hour later. What to do?
I decided to go with a cake. I knew I had that Wacky Cake recipe somewhere, the one where you mix everything right in the pan and bake it, and it somehow turns into the most delicious chocolate cake ever. The recipe is weird because you don't even grease the pan and it calls for vinegar. Fortunately, it also uses oil instead of butter, which was good because I was fresh out. I threw the cake together (with love) in about 2 minutes and got it into the oven before dinner. As we ate our pizza, I contemplated how I would frost it. My standard in-a-hurry icing solution is to throw chocolate chips over the cake while it is still hot out of the oven, then smear it around a few minutes later until the cake is glazed. I still think this is a great way to go, but then I remembered that Melyssa loves sweet treats with a touch of salt. This is the recipe I came up with. By the way, it worked out really well because one of the guests was vegan and another was allergic to milk.

(Last Minute) Decadent Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Birthday Cake (that is Also Vegan)
1 ½ C. Flour
1 C. Brown Sugar
½ C. Cocoa
1 t. Baking Soda
½ t. Salt
1 C. Water
6 T. Canola Oil
1 T. White Vinegar
1 t. Vanilla (I'm not going to say it must be pure, because I cheat at home)

Mix the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, soda and salt right in an 8” round cake pan. Add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Smooth into the pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until cake tests done in the middle. While the Cake bakes, mix up the frosting:

½ C. Peanut Butter (Yum Bakery's is excellent)
3 C. Icing Sugar
1 T. Vanilla
Soy Milk (or regular)
1/3 C. Chocolate Chips
Fleur de Sel or some other fancy salt you spent too much money on and don't use enough

Cream the peanut butter, icing sugar and vanilla together, adding just enough soy milk by tablespoonfuls until the frosting is smooth.

When the cake comes out of the oven, don't even take it out of the pan. Spread the frosting over it, breaking all the rules about waiting for a cake to cool completely, blah blah blah. You're in a hurry, right? Sprinkle with the chocolate chips, then a pinch or two of salt. Rush to the party with the hot cake, which will cool on the way and be a big hit. Don't forget the candles!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake

Just as the first really hot days hit the Valley, so winds down the rhubarb. It sends up tall white flowers that quickly turn into brown seed pods. Meanwhile, the main season strawberries are just about hitting full peak. That little window in early to mid June is the Strawberry Rhubarb Season. Strawberries make rhubarb less puckery, rhubarb makes strawberry more intense, and the whole combination is rich and complex and just plain cussing delicious.
My mom and I just polished off an entire amazing quart in the time it took to drive from the stand into town. I have heard that strawberries naturally whiten teeth, but mine were pretty red. I wouldn't recommend using them as rouge or lipstick either, although my skin does have a refreshed and invigorated feeling.
Well, the word around here is that next week, folks picking strawberries will be making more per hour than I ever hope to. For many kids around here, picking strawberries is a lucrative first job. I did it, too. For one morning. My entire picking career netted me $15, which I don't even remember collecting. Strawberry picking involves bending down and picking fast. It's a buggy, sweaty, back-breaking kind of job, the kind I don't much go for.
I'll be in the kitchen making this Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake Serves up to 12

Crust:
3/4 C. flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. oats
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 C. butter
Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until well combined. Reserve 1 cup crumbs in a separate bowl. Press remaining into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Pretty Pink Filling:
4 C. Rhubarb, sliced
1 1/2 C. Strawberries, sliced
3/4 C. sugar
Bring to a boil in a wide pan and cook until juices have evaporated and mixture is the consistency of chunky jam.

Cheesecake Part:
1 lb. cream cheese
1 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 eggs
2 C. sour cream
1 T. cornstarch
Combine in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over crust into pan. Place rhubarb filling by spoonfuls on top. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350, until center barely jiggles when pan is gently shaken. Cool and then refrigerate overnight.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

You Can't Trust a Skinny Chef

I own a restaurant. So that makes me a professional food lover, which gives me the right, no, the obligation, to eat whatever I want. I'm always testing, tasting, and re-tasting, thinking I've skipped meals when really I've already eaten plenty while working my way through an eight to twelve hour shift surrounded by food. Great food. Our Cafe serves mainly healthy fare, but that doesn't mean calorie free. Three years after the birth of my second child, I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. No justification could fix the fact that I thought about being overweight way too much. My low came when I found myself at a dear friend's birthday party, stealing her camera and deleting all the photos of myself I didn't find flattering.
Eating is a funny thing to be addicted to. Other substances must be shunned forever, but we have to eat to live. Food was a big part of my life growing up. Nearly every activity had accompanying side dishes, and I looked forward so much to dinner that I would cry if it was something I didn't like (hello fish). I loved cooking from a young age, and would make treats (and enormous kitchen messes) for my family. I ate for comfort, and I ate out of great love for the flavours I was discovering. I ate for a living, getting my first cooking job in a Saltspring Island kitchen at age 18. So there was a real love and passion for food (positive) coupled with a tendency to overeat, especially when I was stressed out (negative). And I hated the idea of dieting, and how annoying people on diets could be to committed overeaters, especially when their diet worked.
Because I'm a big ol' food nerd who reads cookbooks in bed, I have a favourite cookbook author. As a cooking obsessed vegetarian teenager, my mom had given me “Still Life with Menu” by Mollie Katzen. I had already read cover to cover my neighbour's copy of the Moosewood Cookbook, also by Mollie, and loved her writing style, her recipes and food guidance. So I was stunned one day while searching online to discover that she had Co-Authored a Diet Book! I thought, “if this woman who has shaped how I cook and feel about food has something to teach me about losing weight, then I want to learn!” I bought it.
I realized I knew lots about food, but so little about how to really eat for health and well-being. The book, titled Eat, Drink and Weigh Less was co-written with Walter Willett, head of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard. It cleared up a lot of my confusion about calories and metabolism, as well as providing a blueprint for long term health. Among Mollie's contributions to the book were many wonderfully simple and tasty recipes. It worked. I lost forty pounds over six months.
Of course, the authors insisted I exercise, and I did. I went to fitness classes a few days a week at our Town Hall (I've never been self motivated, so paying in advance for those classes really got me there). I met inspirational instructor Maggie Travis and joined my amazing cousin Melyssa Hutchinson's fitness Boot Camp. I was just ready, so ready, to shed the old tired me and get moving! So now I'm strong and lean, too. And so grateful for having made the change.
My friend and co-worker, Annette, reminds me constantly to try to be happy with what I have. Like she says, a negative body image can't truly be overcome simply by changing the body. She attends classes, too, and we have a great time trying to outdo each other. It really helps to have that kind of support.

Part of this journey has been rediscovering breakfast. Here are two of my favourite ways to get things cranking in the morning:

Maple Almond Bowl (serves two people who are resolved to make this day a great one)
If you are eating solo, wrap up the second bowl for tomorrow....or the next day.
½ C. 12 Grain Cereal
1 ¼ C. Water
pinch of salt
2 T. toasted and chopped Almonds
2 Medjool Dates or 6 regular dates, diced (I wet the knife so they don't stick)
1 small Apple, diced (I like Boates, VanMeekeren Farms, and Suprima Apples)
2 t. Ground Flax Seed
2 T. Maple Syrup

Combine the cereal, water and salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until nicely thickened. Pour into two bowls. Sprinkle each with the almonds, dates, apple, and flax seed and drizzle with the maple syrup.

Spanakopita Eggs for two (multiplies easily, but use a larger pan)

2 t. Olive Oil
½ small Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced
pinch each Salt and Oregano
two big handfuls or more Spinach, chopped
4 good Eggs
2 T. Feta, crumbled (I love Holmestead)

Heat the oil in small pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic, along with the salt and oregano. Cook 2-3 minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the spinach, then toss and stir until it wilts. Transfer to a plate, and return the pan to the stove. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Pour them into the hot pan. Now stir gently for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan (I use a silicon spatula). When the eggs are mostly set but still wet, shut off the heat and fold in the spinach mixture and the feta. Allow to sit on the heat another minute if you like them cooked more.
Divide between two plates and serve, with toasted pita bread or on its own.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Mixed Baby Greens

The little baby lettuces in my garden enjoyed the rains of last week. Gorgeous curls of burgundy, bright green and speckles of dark red form a plush carpet. I've often seen mesclun at its peak and thought that Anne Geddes would do well to nestle a perfect peach of a baby in amongst the leaves, but luckily my own little ones weren't plopped down naked and photographed. For one thing, it's still frigid in June around here, and for another, we don't want to squish our salad.
Many gardeners go to their efforts for the sake of salad security, and that is my primary reason for spending more on the garden then I would at the farmer's market. I like arugula and chard, beet greens and mustards, lettuces and spinach, and all of them love being in the salad bowl together. If you find yourself with some fresh greens, either your own or obtained at the market, make it easy on yourself. Either have a great dressing ready to go in the fridge that makes tossing and serving a matter of seconds, or dump the greens in a bowl and dress them right then and there. Here's how you do it:

Fresh Greens with “Molly Dressing” (this was a lame attempt to make my daughter love salad)

A bowlful of prepared greens (washed, dried, torn or chopped if necessary)
Fresh Garlic
Salt
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar (or the Apple Balsamic made by Boates)
Pure Maple Syrup

Place the garlic (about 1 small clove for a big bowl of salad) on a cutting board and smash it with the side of your knife. I do this by laying the side of the knife on the garlic and pressing down firmly until the garlic smushes. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and, again using the side of the knife, mash it into a paste. Throw this into the bowl with the greens. Drizzle in some olive oil (maybe a couple spoonfuls) and toss the greens with tongs or your hand until they are lightly and evenly coated with oil. Add a few splashes of balsamic (go easy) and a healthy dollop of maple syrup. Mix, mix, mix, until the garlic is distributed. Now taste, taste, taste, and add a little more maple syrup or vinegar if it needs it. Pile into individual serving bowls. Each serving is amazing just how it is, but you could also top them with bits of Bleu or Parmesan cheese, toasted pecans or almonds, sliced strawberries, sectioned oranges, garlic croutons or whatever you can imagine!

I've always loved Green Goddess dressing, and if you haven't had it, try this! It's best drizzled over your salad rather than mixed in. It's also a lowish fat topper for any fish (grilled salmon especially) and a wonderful pasta salad dressing (try it with cheese tortellini, cherry tomatoes, and diced orange peppers). If you're afraid of buying a big bunch of parsley, only to have it go bad, just brave with me and add it to everything. It keeps almost forever in a plastic bag in the fridge and makes a great vitamin rich and flavourful addition to any soup, pasta dish or salad that you're cooking up.

Tangy Green Goddess Dressing

Combine in a blender:
½ C. Mayonnaise
1 C. Plain Yogurt (low fat is fine and dandy) or Buttermilk
1 clove Garlic
1 large handful Parsley
3 T. Lemon juice
3 Green Onions
½ t. Freshly ground Black Pepper

Blend until smooth, adding salt to taste. Pour over any combination of greens and chopped raw vegetables. Any remaining can be refrigerated for up to two weeks for practically instant salads.

I just want to encourage you to add a salad to your meal at least once throughout the day (or to make it the main attraction!). A big bowl of fresh veggies with a dressing you love can really up your vegetable intake painlessly and deliciously. It can also help fill you up so you feel satisfied with smaller portions of more calorie dense foods, a good trick for lifelong healthy weight maintenance.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Spinach

Spinach. It's green and leafy. You know it's good for you, but maybe you don't eat enough of it. Yet I know by the popularity of the Poppyseed dressing at the Cafe that lots of you are eating it, in the form of Spinach Salad. Add some Bacon, a few slivers of Red Onion, some Tomato and Sliced Egg, and you're in business. We've usually been able to find a local source of spinach by late March or April, which makes it the first fresh local vegetable in spring. We've been buying beautiful spinach from Katrina Fairn at the Berwick Farmer's Market and Taproot Farms, and I've gotten lovely stuff in previous years from Goldfinch Farm (just look for Dora at the Wolfville Farmer's Market). And while one can certainly consume plenty in raw form, cooking it reduces its volume so much you can easily eat half your daily vegetable requirement in a few luscious bites.

In fact, it's cooked Spinach that I now adore, in many different forms. Just try adding a large chopped bunch to a hot pan with Olive Oil and Garlic and turning it until it's cooked (sprinkle in some salt to taste). Or make a simple pizza and top with chopped Spinach, Tomato and minced Garlic. Mix cooked Spinach into your scrambled Eggs, add a big handful to any pasta dish, stir lots into curries and soups and use a bed of chopped spinach under just about anything. Spinach adds great flavour, and virtually calorie free volume (there may be more to come on this subject, since I love to pig out but don't like the side effects). Here's the latest favourite staff meal at Union Street:

Spinach and Veggie Skillet with Broiled Cheese

For 2 Veggie Lovers

1 T. Olive Oil
½ C. Red Onion, sliced
1 C. Mushrooms, sliced (we like Valley Mushrooms)
2 C. Red or Green Peppers, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 enormous handfuls Spinach, chopped
1 C. Decent Tomato Sauce, or 1 large Tomato, chopped
1 C. Cooked Chicken, chopped
½ C. Feta cheese or Mozzarella

Preheat your oven's broiler and move the rack to the top position. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, mushrooms and peppers and saute until onions have softened and mushrooms are beginning to brown. Stir in the garlic, spinach and a pinch of salt and cook for another minute, until the spinach has wilted. Add the tomato sauce or tomatoes and the chicken if you're using it. Top evenly with the cheese. Place the pan under the broiler for a few minutes, watching intently, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling and browned. Divide between two bowls and serve with crusty bread.

We have experimented with about a hundred different Poppyseed Dressing recipes, but we feel this is the best. It comes in a roundabout way from the old Broadstreet Cafe in Kentville, NS via my dear friend and fellow food lover Terry Thornhill. It has a shocking amount of sugar, but it does make Spinach tempting to even the most vegetable-wary.

Poppyseed Dressing makes lots, and keeps at least 1 month in the fridge
1 T. Dry Mustard
1/2 C. Sugar
1/3 C. Vinegar
1 C. Canola Oil
1 t. Poppyseeds
1/2 t. Salt
1/8 t. Pepper
1/2 t. (yes) Garlic Salt

Put all the ingredients except the poppyseeds in a blender and blend until thick. Pour into a jar and add the poppyseeds, shaking to distribute. My oh my.