Corn (and Tomato) Time!

Oh Corn. You are so tasty when good, yet so bad when not. I think it best to avoid any early corn offerings at your local market, and get really tired of broccoli and zucchini and early summer vegetables while you wait for Perfect Corn. Then, right about mid August, when the price drops and the ears fatten, get yourself a dozen and have at 'er. This morning I had the pleasure of helping myself to beautiful corn for only $3 a dozen, at the same honour system stand that had provided me with most of the strawberries I ate this summer. Then I took the corn to the restaurant, shucked it, cut off all the kernels and made a beautiful and simple Corn Chowder, which I served at lunch. Courtney, my trusted salad gal, made Peach, Fresh Tomato and Corn Salad. For a couple of food geeks, this is what it's all about.
Steaming is the easiest and fastest method of cooking corn, requiring only an inch of water. Shuck and de-silk the corn, pile into a large pot with an inch of water at the bottom and set it over high heat. When steam starts billowing out, set the timer for two minutes, no more. Today's sweet corn really only needs to be heated through, then it's ready to eat. Try combining equal parts of butter and maple syrup with a pinch of cayenne or maybe a small spoonful of sriracha sauce, then brushing this on the corn after it's cooked.
The Corn Fritters have been part of my family's cooking repertoire since I can remember. They are almost as simple as corn on the cob and really delicious. The flour has gradually been reduced over the years, now just barely holding the sweet kernels together. Together with the emergence of Fried Green Tomatoes on the table, they are a sure sign that it is the end of August.

Peach, Fresh Tomato and Corn Salad

2 ears of Corn, shucked and kernels cut off
1 T. Olive Oil
2 ripe Peaches, cut in 1” chunks
enough assorted Tomatoes, cut in 1”chunks, to measure 3-4 cups
1 T. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T. Fresh Basil, cut into ribbons

Heat a small frying pan over medium high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the corn kernels. Cook briefly, a minute at most, until heated through. Scrape into a bowl, making sure to include the oil. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently.

Corn Fritters

I've been cooking half the batter plain for the kids and then adding the cumin and green onion to the bowl to cook for the grownups! These fritters are lovely as is, but you can't go wrong with a little maple syrup and even a pat of butter on the plain ones.

3 ears Corn (about 3 Cups)
2 Eggs
½ t. Salt
¼ t. Pepper
2 T. Flour
Canola Oil for frying
¼ C. Sliced Green Onion (optional)
½ t. Ground toasted Cumin (optional)

Stand the cob on end on your cutting board, then cut the corn from the cob. Scrape the cob clean with the edge of the knife. Put all the bits of corn in a large bowl and add the eggs, salt, pepper, flour and optional green onion and cumin. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Use a soup spoon to dole out the batter, spacing them for easy turning. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown, then flip and cook a minute on the other side. Serve right away or keep the fritters warm in a low oven. They are also great at room temperature!

Fresh off the Cob Corn Chowder

6 fresh ears of Corn

2 large Onions, diced
1/4 C. Butter
 8 C. cubed Potatoes
1/2 C. Flour
2 C. Milk or Cream
2 T. Parsley
1 T. Salt

Stand the cob on end on your cutting board, then cut the corn from the cob. Scrape the cob clean with the edge of the knife into a bowl.  Place the scraped cobs in a pot and add 16 cups of water.  Bring to a boil while you get on with the recipe.  Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat and add the onion.  Stir and cook for ten minutes or so, until the onion is softened and starting to brown.  Add the flour to the onions and butter and cook another minute, then whisk in the cream or milk.  Continue cooking, stirring the whole time, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.  Turn off the heat. 
After the cobs have boiled for 20 minutes or so, add the cubed potatoes.  Cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Reduce the heat to low.  Pull the cobs out with a pair of tongs and discard, then stir in the onion and milk mixture.  Add the corn and parsley to the pot and simmer for another ten minutes, then serve!

Blackberry Apple Pie

After I write this, I'm going to pick some blackberries. In the spring, I planted raspberries and while I was at it, I gave the blackberries that surround the house some compost and a little extra water. They seem to have responded to my gesture, and are ripening by the handful. Hopefully you have some wild blackberries growing nearby, or you can head down any back road and likely find some in no time. They are beautiful plants, especially right now, when berries of all colours from green to red to black occupy the same branch. If you can't find them wild, they are available right now at many farm markets, and just a small amount of them will add a lot of flavour to your seasonal baking.

I can't get through this season without thinking about how I met the father of my kids. I was on Saltspring Island at the time, where the wild blackberries grow so profusely that you could live off them, like a bear. Bakeries in the town of Ganges buy berries from anyone who will bother to pick them. I was living in a tent at the time, and some friends of mine and I decided to pick some blackberries and take it one step further-bake Blackberry Apple pies and sell them by the piece, with ice cream, at the Farmer's Market. We picked gallons of berries near a construction site. Adrian and Dennis hadn't made pastry before, so they let me take the lead, buying flour and shortening and apples at the Thrifty's supermarket downtown. The three of us settled into a long afternoon and evening of peeling apples, measuring sugar and berries, and rolling pastry, using my friend Jill's kitchen.

The next morning, we set off to make our fortune. We had brought spoons, plates, and ice cream in a cooler along with our 15 or so pies. We had planned to cut each into 8 pieces, and sell it for $3. Sales were slow in the morning, but Adrian was a charming salesman and roved the market, directing people to us. A tall, dark and handsome man who I had seen many times, but to whom I hadn't been introduced, came and bought a piece. He was a friend of Adrian's and they settled into a conversation. Soon, he was heading to the nearest Cafe and came back with coffee for all of us. Another piece of pie later, and he and I were well on the way to everything that has happened since; a wedding, two beautiful and magical children, a home, a garden, and a restaurant. The marriage itself didn't work, but everything else has flourished, a sure sign that it was meant to be.

In the end, after expenses, we made exactly the same amount we would have had we just sold the berries to Embe Bakery. But I think we had fun doing it, and we got to eat a lot of Blackberry Apple Pie.

Blackberries are as mysterious and seductive as their colour suggests. Really a dark, dark purple, blackberries possess a strange and fragrant quality. Eaten out of hand, they taste like berries. But cooked and made into pies or crumbles, they are perfume-y, sometimes almost soapy. This was most apparent to me while eating a handmade blackberry ice cream at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. “It tastes like soap” I said, believing it must have been their failure to rinse their equipment properly. “That's the blackberries,” they explained, “they have a strange and surprising flavour”. It's like eating a piece of Thrills Gum: once someone assures you that it really is supposed to taste like that, you can revel in the exotic-ness of it.
I love this pie. Combining the blackberries with apples is like adding water to whiskey: diluting the flavours a little allows you to really taste them.

Blackberry Apple Pie

Use a deep pie plate for this recipe, it is a big pie!

10 C. Apple Slices
1 Pint Blackberries
1 C. Sugar
½ C. Flour
Juice of Half a Lemon
2 T. Butter, cut in little bits (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine everything but the butter in a large bowl.  Make the pastry:

Food Processor Pastry  (adapted from Canadian Living)


3 C. Flour
1 t. Salt
½ C. Butter
½ C. Lard
1 Egg
2 t. Lemon Juice
Ice Water

Combine the flour, salt, butter and lard in a food processor. Pulse about 25 times, until the mixture is crumbly. In a measuring cup, beat the egg and vinegar, then add enough water to measure 2/3 cup. With the machine running, pour the egg mixture in. Let the machine run for another 5-10 seconds, until mixture starts to clump, and then turn the contents out onto a lightly floured counter. Press the dough together, gathering up any straggly bits, and divide into two balls. You can chill the pastry for a half hour, making it easier to work with, or you can proceed straight to rolling out one ball into a circle 3 inches wider all around then your pie plate. Keep the surface underneath floured so it doesn't stick.

When it's the size you want, gently fold the pastry in quarters and place it in a quadrant of the pie plate. Unfold and ease the pastry into the pan, letting the extra pastry hang evenly over the edges. Tumble the filling into the pie crust (it will be very tall) and dot with the optional butter. Roll out the second ball, fold in quarters, and unfold over the pie. Fold the top and bottom crusts together all along the edge, trimming of there is too much pastry. Make sure you have a good seal so that the filling won't leak out (it will anyway, but do your best). Then you can make a decorative edge or not. Poke some holes in the top with a fork and brush the pie with beaten egg or cream and sprinkle all over with sugar (turbinado is pretty, I use Just Us! Of course).

Put the pie in the oven and slide a baking sheet onto the rack underneath. Bake the pie at 325° for about 2 hours, until the juices are bubbling thickly (most likely onto the baking sheet, that's why it's there) and the pastry is deep brown. Let it cool for at least a couple hours before devouring with ice cream.

Zucchini

 

I bought a food magazine last week (hard to choose these days!) and was taken by a picture of the month's featured ingredient, Zucchini. A row of gorgeous specimens was laid out, all with flowers attached, in tight shiny skins. It made me feel sad for those grocery store zucchini, all pitted, dull, and half rotten. Zucchini is rarely displayed in the refrigerated section, where it really needs to be. This leaves us no choice but to buy our zucchini straight from a farmer, or find a little room and grow our own. I get my fill of zucchini every summer, when my plants produce enough for me, the Cafe, and our sweet little laying hens.


They love to wander the garden, pecking for slugs, snails, and the butt end of any zucchini they can reach. Almost all the zucchini I have harvested this year have had to be trimmed at the end to get rid of beak marks. I am happy to share, as zucchini is one of those garden treasures that rarely fails to provide. The hens were an addition this spring, when my daughter, who had wished on the first star she saw tonight for over two years now, finally got her dream of being a farmer. I may have influenced things a little, pointing out that while the pig, pony, goats and sheep she wanted would be very nice, chickens were probably all we could handle right now. We have a flock of 16 birds, including two young roosters who are in a contest for their very lives that they know nothing about. Unless they can work it out peaceably, it is likely one will get eaten for Thanksgiving.



My parents' garden one year produced an overabundance of baseball bat sized squash. I'm not sure how old we were, but my sister Meagan and I were determined not to let any go to waste. We decided to make zucchini loaf, something we had enjoyed at least once and that was supposed to freeze well (zucchini on its own is not a great freezer). My mother looked the other way as we blew through her baking supplies, using at least $30 worth of ingredients saving what most people would have thrown in their compost heap, or shoved into their neighbour's mailbox (not the kind of gifting I was referring to last week). In the end, we got super sick of zucchini bread, and threw many freezer burned specimens out the next spring. My strategy now is to pick zucchini small, 6-8 inches at most, and use it up right away in savoury dishes. There will always be one or two that escape your notice before turning into monsters. This is what you should use in baking, as it is practically flavourless. Or throw it to your chickens.

Zucchini with Olive Oil and Garlic
If you still don't like zucchini, try this simple but very delicious method.

4 medium or 8 small Zucchini sliced into 1/4” disks
2 t. Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Swirl in the olive oil, and let heat for a minute. Add the zucchini. Stir and cook for about five minutes, until the zucchini is hot and just tender. Add the garlic and salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper is great in this). After another minute of cooking, the zucchini is ready to eat. If you like, you can sprinkle with an optional tablespoon or two of parmesan, then stick the whole pan under the broiler until the cheese is bubbling and browned.


Zucchini Muffins
These are great fresh. And still great frozen. But if you multiply this recipe and freeze it, it is at your own risk.

2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. Sugar (Just Us! has inexpensive Fair Trade sugar)
2 t. Baking Powder
2 t. Cinnamon (optional)
½ t. Salt
3 Eggs
1/2 C. Canola Oil
1 T. Vanilla
4 C. Grated Zucchini, squeezed of most moisture
1 C. Chocolate Chips or Toasted Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease well with oil. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla and pour over the dry ingredients. Add the zucchini and chocolate or walnuts, and then stir just to combine. Divide the mixture between muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are springy to the touch.


Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 C. Flour (part Whole Wheat or all Spelt works great)
1 C. Sugar
1/3 C. Cocoa
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 C. Canola Oil
1 T. White Vinegar
1 t. Vanilla
1 C. Cold Water
11/2 C. Grated Zucchini (about 1 medium)
1 C. Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 350°.  Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla, water, zucchini and chocolate chips and stir gently until just combined. Pour into muffin pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Veggies at Keji

Lyss at our Kejimkujik Kitchen

We went camping last week. That's why I've been missing. We left for Kejimkujik National Park on Saturday and didn't return until Thursday afternoon. That's a lot of advance food planning, and a long time to keep a cooler cold. Camping at Keji has been a longstanding tradition with my family, my parents taking my sister and I nearly every year when we were kids. As I've told you, my mom is an excellent and adventurous cook, and cooking over a campstove in the middle of the woods with no running water is not going to deter her from making exactly what she wants, be it Coconut Curry with Cauliflower and Dhal, or Hodge Podge, or fresh Guacomole. This, after all, is the woman who has made risotto (for the first time!) during a power outage caused by a snow storm raging outside, using the same stove and hoping for the best as far as carbon monoxide goes.

I'm my mother's daughter, so I had to have a few essentials: Pepper Grinder, Homemade Granola Bars, Lobster, Pesto, Chocolate, Fresh Dates, Blueberries, Raspberries, Kale, Swiss Chard, New Potatoes, many Zucchini, Fresh Basil, Cilantro, Peanut Ginger Baked Tofu, Curry Sauce from the Cafe, Tomatoes, Lemons, Toasted Almonds and Cashews, a Baguette, some Pesto Hummus (my new invention), Roasted Eggplant, Mango Chutney, Bananas, Garlic, and of course, Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. And some hot dogs. I didn't panic when I discovered that I forgot the Parmagiano and a little cheese grater, because I knew my mother would show up with both.
My cousin Melyssa and my sister Meagan were among my camping companions, along with husbands, children, and an ever-changing roster of dear friends new and old. We did a little advance planning to cooperate on meals and Melyssa and I spent a few hours preparing some of the longer-cooking, more complicated menu items at home. My garden was exploding, so I did my best to hold it at bay by cramming many more vegetables than we could possibly eat into our cooler.

That first night, we enjoyed my Chicken and Vegetable Curry with Melyssa's Dhal and some Naan bread that she toasted over the flames, along with amazing Samosas my friend Melissa brought along. The meals all week continued in the same way. Every evening at dinner time, we laughed at ourselves for being so ridiculous, but also felt gratitude for being in the company of others who find such pleasure in these small luxuries. After all, we've got to eat! Might as well make it good.

Peanut Ginger Baked Tofu

Wrap this up with veggies, basil and cilantro and Thai Chili Sauce for a wonderful wrap, or serve it with steamed vegetables and rice. The tofu keeps for a week or two in the fridge, or forever in the freezer.

2 lb. Tofu (if you live here, use Acadiana!)
2 T. Peanut Butter
3 inch piece of Ginger
8 cloves Garlic
½ C. Soy Sauce
½ C. Canola Oil
½ C. Sugar
1 T. Sesame Oil
Blend everything except the tofu in the food processor. Cut the tofu in 1x2 inch pieces, and place on a baking sheet. Pour marinade over and bake at 350 until crispy...but not burned, about 25 minutes.


Granola Bars that are Good for You

This is a very flexible recipe-the last 7 ingredients can be changed up as you see fit. Try dried apricots, figs, dates, dried cherries or dried blueberries for the fruit. Cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, really anything goes for the nuts. Just do not omit the chocolate. My daughter insists it is key to the success of this recipe.

1/2 C. Peanut Butter (or half Peanut and half Almond Butter)
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Milk or Soy Milk
1/2 C. Honey
2 T. Oil
2 t. Vanilla
3/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. Plain Soy Protein Powder (Look in the health food section or substitute whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 C. Oatmeal
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 C. Raisins
1/2 C. Dried Cranberries (Terra Beata uses NS Fruit)
1 C. Chocolate Chips
1/2 C. Chopped Almonds
1/2 C. Ground Flax Seed or Sesame Seeds
1/2 C. Sunflower Seeds
1/2 C. Coconut

Grease a standard size cookie sheet with canola oil. Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well, then pack evenly into the pan. Use wet hands to smooth it down, then bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Cool for about half an hour, then cut into 32 bars. Freeze in an airtight container. These are great straight from the freezer, so hide them well. They will also keep for at least a week on your next camping trip, or in the glove box, or your gym bag.


Pesto Hummus

This is way easy if you have pesto, and really yummy, too!

1 Can Chick Peas, drained
2 T. Lemon Juice
1/4 C. Pesto

Throw this all in the food processor and blend, adding water as necessary, until smooth. Scrape it into a serving dish, or divide into 1 Cup plastic containers and freeze. The top will discolour quickly from the pesto, but stir it up just before serving and you will find it deelish!

PS My Mom and Dad wrote a great song about camping at Kejimkujik with deluxe food and the company of raccoons. They are famously clever at Keji and they always manage to get something, no matter how careful you are! Here are the lyrics, as my special bonus to you. Sing it to any tune you want, or buy a copy of the Lustre Brothers CD Live at the Whittle at the Cafe.


RACCOON BLUES
© Anna & Don Osburn 1994

Raccoon raid on our camp last night
Raccoons came, took everything in sight
Took my fresh-made pesto and a cheesecake, too
But they left the avocado, guess they didn’t know what to do

CHORUS:
With the avocado, the tequila, and the lime
I think they would’ve figured it out, if they only had the time
Well, the scene bordered on the bizarre
Some might say it was sublime
I saw `em feastin’ in the moonlight
Gettin’ mellow on my wine.

We had a merry little band of masked marauders
Every one one of them a sophisticated robber
Broke into the cooler with skill and ease
Solved a combination lock, and absconded with the cheese....

CHORUS:
But they left the avocado.... etc.


Breakfast this morning was kind of lean,
`Cause the raccoons left us with low cuisine
No bagels, no bacon, took the brandied jam
Now guacamole and a shot glass are lookin’ like the plan....

CHORUS:
`Cause they left the avocado.... etc

Blueberries

I just want to say thank you to whoever dropped off the beautiful box of wild blueberries on my doorstep last week. An unexpected and anonymous gift of the season's best is a wonderful way of reminding us of the kindness and generosity of those around us. I love especially that everyone is suspect, making me feel a little more loving to all my friends and neighbours. I'm going to pass it on, and maybe at the farm market this week, you'll buy an extra bit of something to leave on your neighbour's doorstep too.

Fresh blueberries are a real treat, and this is the truly Nova Scotian way to indulge:

Blueberry Gumbo

2 pints Blueberries, wild or cultivated (we're loving Lazy Brook)
1/3 C. Sugar
1 T.Lemon Juice
1 T. Cornstarch
a pinch of Salt

Combine the ingredients in a large, wide pot and gently bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and let cook a minute while you make the dough:

1 1/2 C. Flour (Whole Wheat also works great!)
2 1/4 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
2 T. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Sour Cream (Low-fat works very well)

Combine the dry ingredients. then stir in the sour cream to make a soft dough. Using a 1/4 C. measure, scoop up portions of the dough and place on top of the blueberries. Try to space them apart-they will grow together a bit as they cook! Cover the pot and let cook for about 25 minutes, until the dumplings are puffed and dry to the touch on top. Scoop out portions with a good measure of the sauce and serve with sour cream, whipped cream, or vanilla yogurt.

Basil

When I was young, a friend of my dad's would often roar up from Delaware on his bike, blast into our lives for a week, and make everything interesting for a while. Often with a new pretty girlfriend in tow, Redz would soak up a year's worth of Nova Scotian life, telling ridiculous jokes, making my dad swear more than usual, and cooking. He also had a lot of energy for my sister Meagan and I, referring to us mostly as Rug Rat and Linoleum Lizard, names he had given us as infants. He drew us silly pictures and took us for rides on his motorcycle. Once he answered the phone with his Delaware accent, and the person on the other end thought they had dialed Luigi's, the pizza place in town. “Do you guys have turkey subs?” the poor sucker asked. “Well, we do”, he said, “only problem is, them turkeys are still runnin' 'round out back. Ain't had time to kill 'em today!”
Whether Redz introduced us to pesto or not is of some debate. I know he did, my mom isn't sure. Anyway, my mom was really into her herb garden at the time, and since basil is the queen of herbs, it was held in high esteem. She would sprinkle shreds of it on a tomato and mozzarella salad, and stir it chopped into green beans stewed with garlic and tomatoes. However we discovered pesto, even as kids, Meagan and I were hooked.
More recently, I've been including basil in wraps with baked peanut tofu and as a garnish for Pad Thai. I'm also growing Thai Basil this year, which has a hint of licorice flavour, and Ruben Basil, which is dark purple and makes a shocking pink herb vinegar. Basil is amazing in a grilled pineapple salad, and in my favourite sandwich: Just toast two slices of good bread, rub it with a cut garlic clove and a smear of mayonnaise. Top one with thick slices of tomato and whole basil leaves, then put on the top. Cut in half and devour!
Basil is easily frozen. Just strip off the leaves, put them in a food processor with about 1/4 C. olive oil to each 8 cups basil leaves. Pulse until well chopped, then transfer to small bags and freeze.

Pesto

Here is a good basic pesto recipe, one you can freeze in small bags for a taste of summer anytime!
8 C. loosely packed Basil
8 Cloves Garlic
½ C. Sunflower seeds
½ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ C. Olive Oil
2 C. Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (I use Holmestead)

In a food processor, pulse all but the cheese until smooth. Stir in the cheese by hand. Package into small freezer bags and freeze. Pesto can also be stored in the fridge for a week or two. Make sure to tamp down the solids so there is a good layer of oil on top.


Green Beans with Tomato and Basil

1 T. Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large Tomatoes, chopped (or half a 28 oz can)
1 lb. Green Beans, steamed or boiled until just tender
1/4 to 1/2 C. chopped Basil

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened and beginning to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until they have broken down into a sauce-like consistency, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans and basil, along with salt and pepper to taste, and let cook a few more minutes. This dish is great hot or at room temperature.

Thai Pork Burgers

1 lb. Ground Pork (we love Meadowbrook!)
1 t. Salt
1 T. Fish Sauce
1 T. Sugar
1/2 C. chopped Basil
2 cloves minced Garlic
1/2 C. chopped Green Onion, optional

Combine everything in a large bowl. Form into 4 patties, or for cute mini burgers, form into 12 patties. Grill or panfry until no longer pink in the centre. Serve with Sweet Chili Sauce and sprigs of Cilantro, Red Onion slices, Mayonnaise and whatever else suits your fancy!