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

Friday, November 26, 2010

NS Local Food Hero 2010

I haven't said anything about this yet here, but Meagan and I got to take a little trip to the city a couple weeks ago.  We attended a Restaurant Association dinner where we picked up the NS Local Food Hero Award.  It's given by Select Nova Scotia and the I'm super excited about it, because it really means something to me.  It's given to a restaurant that promotes local food to their customers, and participates in activities to promote local agriculture and profile local food products.  Previous winners Chives and Fid are great company.  And it came with a whole bunch of Nova Scotian wine.

Coincidentally, this quote from Julia Child found its way to me this week:


The measure of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something that you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile. 


Well hallelujah for that!! 
Melyssa and I went on a little wine tour back in the summer to round out the Cafe's selection of NS wine and it really blew my mind.  The wineries are all beautiful and the wines are great.  If you're from here and want to take a little trip without leaving the Valley, it's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon!  If you're not from here, it truly is a reason to come.  For a guide, check out the Nova Scotia Winery Association's website.

Cheers!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Carrotiest Carrots

I've been holding out on you. I know where the tastiest carrots in the Valley are and I haven't told you yet. Let me just give you some clues. These carrots are organic. One of these farmers doesn't wear shoes unless he really has to. Another is the smiling face behind their beautiful veggie stand at the Wolfville Farmer's Market. And their son Nelson just opened a fabulous restaurant right behind Union Street Cafe called the Black Trumpet.
So the barefoot grower of tasty carrots is Henry Penner of Goldfinch Farms. He and and his wife Dora grow an amazing variety of vegetables on their farm on Willow Avenue, practically in the town of Berwick. From salsify to parsnips to a rainbow of peppers and tomatoes, squash, leeks that would set world records for their size, parsley root, spinach, even peanuts, they grow it all without chemicals and with, it would appear, a lot of love. 

Henry and Dora now own the Rising Sun Health Food Store in Berwick, and they stock a fridge with their own produce. Henry will gladly fill orders for larger quantities if you just ask. 

Sawler's carrots are also grown outside of Berwick and are widely available at grocery stores. They are the folks that produce a lot of the Valley's cabbage, turnips and onions and keep the kid's soccer program going! I love their trucks, retro green with red boxes. You are welcome to stop by their wholesale/retail outlet and stock up for winter (very inexpensively) at 189 Pleasant Valley Road. Just take Exit 15 off highway 101, head north, then take the very first right.

At the Cafe, we've been experimenting with Rainbow Carrots from Wilmar Acres. Marketed under the Country Magic label, they are a fun way to add colour and have great flavour, too!  Today we made this wonderful salad for the buffet.

Roasted Moroccan Carrot Salad

12 Carrots (use assorted colours if you can)
1 Red Onion, sliced
3 T. Olive Oil
1 t. Salt
2 T. Lemon Juice
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 t. Cumin, toasted in a small frying pan until fragrant
1/2 t. Sriracha Hot Sauce (or not)
1/4 t. Cinnamon
2 T. Parsley
2 t. Honey
Pomegranate Seeds and Chopped Cilantro for garnishing, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel carrots, and cut into 1/2" pieces.  Place in a large bowl with the onion, olive oil and salt.  Toss to coat the vegetables and spread onto a baking sheet.  Roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until carrots have softened and are beginning to brown.  Meanwhile, whisk the  lemon juice, cumin, optional hot sauce, cinnamon, honey and parsley until combined.  When the carrots are ready, scrape them back in the bowl with all their oil and toss with the dressing while still warm.  Serve salad right away or chill until cold and serve, garnished with the pomegranate seeds and cilantro.


Honey Roasted Carrots
So simple, but so yummy. Try this for Christmas dinner!

2 lb. Carrots, peeled or just well washed
2 T. Butter, melted
2 T. Honey

Preheat oven to 400°. Chop the carrots into ½ inch chunks. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop the carrots in, then reduce the heat and cover for about ten minutes, until carrots are tender. Drain and combine in a 9x13 pan with the butter and honey. Roast uncovered for 30-45 minutes, until carrots are glazed and browned.

Friday, November 19, 2010

On the Road Again with Sarah and Pat

My mom Anna and her friend Pat started the second handmade soap company in all of Canada. It's hard to believe, with all the thousands of soap sellers at craft fairs and shops these days, but it's true! North Mountain Soapery started in a corner of Pat's house in Burlington, then moved to rented spaces including a dusty nook behind Ye Olde Curiousity Shoppe in Port Williams. In about 1985, when I was nine, they renovated a barn on Pat's property and went big-time, selling soap and potpourri and bath salts at shows in Toronto and even at Disney's Epcot Centre in Florida. I remember asking my mom to pack me up inside one of the boxes destined for Dopey Drive.
Me, Meagan and Sarah
Every few years, we sit down to watch and howl at Mom and Pat's appearance on “On the Road Again” with Wayne Rostad. In the video, Pat's kids, Sarah and Jesse, are joined by my sister and I in a highly staged portrayal of quaint rural life. Pat calls us from the barn and we come running, to wash up for supper, with North Mountain Soapery soap in an old washtub on the porch. Mom and Pat are so young and sweet in their interview, so passionate about what they were making, and with all that 80s hair going on, it is really a scream.  Or, in the case of Pat and Sarah, a snort.

We lived just down the road from Pat and her husband Doug, and Meagan, Sarah and I were pretty much all the same age, so we were together fairly often. We played in Sarah's treehouse, gorged ourselves on fruit in Doug's orchard, and dared each other to walk across the beams of the barn next door. We went on picnics in the woods, swam in the pond stocked with salmon, and cooked supper together when our moms were away in Toronto (legendary meals cooked by our Dads included Kraft Dinner with ground venison, highly salted spaghetti that made me throw up, and burgers undercooked by me that made Sarah throw up. These recipes aren't included here).

Sarah and I were both home sick one day, and mom had to go to work, so I was to spend the day at Sarah's convalescing with her while our Moms worked next door. Pat had a Crock-Pot of baked beans on the go for supper. Somehow, one of us tripped over the cord and the whole thing came crashing down onto the floor. We were terrified. Despite our illness, we sprang into action, all the while on high alert should one of our mothers walk in the door. We scooped up the beans with a dustpan and hastily dumped them back into the pot. We added water to bring the beans back up to their original volume, plugged it back in and wiped everything up as best we could. Lucky for me, we went home for supper.  Still, I couldn't shake the guilty feeling as I imagined her pretending to enjoy the tainted beans.

Me, Sarah, Meagan and Lyss in Cuba
Well, 25 years later, Meagan and I are still friends with Sarah. We can tell the same stories over and over and cry with laughter every time. Sarah and Jesse own a business together that Doug started towards the end of North Mountain Soapery (they sold it in 1989), Country Stoves and Sunrooms in Aylesford. And Mom and Pat are still wonderful friends, now working together on another big project, a book this time, about the history of the people of Burlington. We all have shared many meals together, with very few of them hitting the floor first. Pat makes an amazing Bok Choy salad that I first tasted when she brought me a meal after the birth of my daughter, Molly. Both Sarah and Pat are famous for the mouthwatering yet very simple Garlic Brie that makes an appearance at their parties, and Sarah willingly (I think) makes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chestnuts that her girlfriends clamour for each Christmas.


Garlic Brie
4 Cloves Garlic
2 T. Olive Oil
1 small wheel Brie or Camembert
Mince the garlic and combine with the oil. Place the brie on a pie plate and spoon the garlic oil over top. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or simply heat in the microwave until the cheese is soft and warm, about 30-60 seconds. Serve with your favourite crackers to everyone at the party.

Bok Choy Salad serves many
Pat calls this "Sugar Salad" for obvious reasons.  You can cut back on the butter (use 2-3 T.) and the sugar (use 1/2 C.) and it will still be good.  I suggest making it as is and sharing it with your delighted friends.

1 large head Bok Choy, chopped (any cabbage will do nicely, really)
2 bunches Green Onion, sliced
½ C. Slivered Almonds
2 pkg. broken Ramen Noodles (throw out the seasoning and bash up the noodles while still in the bag)
½ C. Sesame Seeds
½ C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
½ C. Vinegar
2 T. Soy Sauce
1 C. Canola Oil

Place the bok choy and green onions in a large bowl.  In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the almonds, ramen noodles and sesame seeds.  Stir and cook until everything is toasty.  Drain on paper towels.  In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and canola oil until sugar has dissolved.  Just before serving, toss the bok choy and green onions with enough dressing to coat, then shake on the nuts and noodles and toss again.  Oh boy.

Webster's Baked Beans with a little Union Street twist (thanks, Alexis!)
 This traditional (almost) baked bean recipe comes to you straight from Webster Farms, a bean and raspberry grower in Cambridge, Nova Scotia.  We use their Jacob's Cattle Beans for this, but you can use almost any white or speckled dried bean.

1 lb.  Webster Farms Dried Beans
2 tsp.  Dried Mustard
1/2 t. Ground Ginger
1/2 cup  Brown Sugar
2/3 cup  Molasses
1/2 C. Ketchup
1 tsp.  Salt
1/4 tsp.  Pepper
4 strips Bacon (or not)
1 tsp.  Vinegar
1  medium Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced


Soak beans overnight in plenty of water to cover.  Place beans in large pot with 6 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until beans are tender, approximately 30 minutes. Eat a bean to make sure it's tender, they will not soften further once the remaining ingredients are added!  Place in slow cooker (in a secure location:).  Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine. Cook on high for 4-6 hours covered. Alternatively, bake in the oven for 4-6 hours at 300 degrees, checking in once in a while to make sure beans have enough liquid.


Friday, November 12, 2010

November Harvest


It's getting to that time of year when you know it's all about to change. You may not know when, but it's coming. I've made my tire appointment, we've already burned through a noticeable quantity of firewood, and for a good two weeks before the clocks changed, the kids got on the bus in the dark.
Leaves have changed, been admired, and shaken themselves free.  Giant bonfires of scraped-together cornstalks one night yielded a gorgeous and surreal autumn vista by morning: smoke hanging low over the Valley floor and all the colour and orange-gold light. In the garden, I'm still harvesting kale, swiss chard and broccoli and wondering how I'll find the time to plant the garlic. I can still pick raspberries a few at a time, and if I looked really hard, I could find a sound tomato. Still, it's after Halloween and long past the first pumpkin pie.
 Last week, we ordered piles of last-of-season greens, beets and herbs from Katrina Fairn and Angie Schoonhoven. I'm sad to let this connection go for the winter, we've had such a good time at the Berwick Farmer's Market and I miss it. I'm wondering when it's going to get cold and stay cold.

Fall and winter are cozy time for me in the restaurant. In the summer, when we're sweating to death and wondering why in hell anyone would order French Onion soup, it's hard to remember that the kitchen can be such a welcoming place come cooler weather.

I'm looking forward to the dishes we cook for the holiday season: Carrots baked in Honey and Butter, Turnip with Garlic Cream, Sweet Potatoes and Maple Syrup, and Roasted Vegetables of all kinds, including Parsnips, Celeriac, and Beets. For now, though, I'm hanging on to end of fall. I made this dish for Sean and I a few nights ago, it's just the kind of thing when you have your foot firmly in two seasons at once.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Greens and Sausage serves 4

1 small Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 T. Olive Oil
Salt
1 Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
16 C. mixed Chopped Kale, Swiss Chard, or any kind of greens
1/2 lb. Cooked Sausage, cut in rounds (or substitute 6-8 oz Smoked Tofu, cut in strips)
Green Tomato Pickles or PC Fig and Balsamic Sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°. On a baking sheet, toss the squash and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil together with a little salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring after ten minutes, until fully softened and browned. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for ten minutes or so, stirring often, until they are soft and caramelized. Fire in the garlic, kale and ½ t. salt. Stir and cook for a minute, then add ¼ C. water and cover. Cook for five minutes covered, then and add the chard or other greens and cover again. Cook for five minutes, until the greens are nearly softened, then uncover and add the sausage or smoked tofu. Toss and cook until the water has evaporated and the sausage is heated through. Divide the squash amongst four plates, then pile the greens on top and grind on some pepper. This is amazing served with homemade pickles, but if your auntie won't share with you, the fig sauce is rather good on top.


Friday, November 5, 2010

Down at the Cranberry Bog

Cranberry Acres (and Acres!)
Folded into lemony muffins, baked into stuffing, stirred into freshly toasted granola and garnishing a spinach salad: we have come up with many uses for the tasty little cranberry. It's all for good reason. Cranberries are beautiful, nutritious and, around here, plentiful. In fact, cranberries grow wild around Nova Scotian brooks and streams and have become an important crop in the Annapolis Valley since at least the 1940s, when the first commercial harvest was made near Aylesford. Cranberries have been produced commercially in Nova Scotia since the late 1800s!

I had a chance to visit my friend Louise's Cranberry Acres last Tuesday. I was amazed at the complex machinery, their acres of irrigated fields, and a complex system of irrigation ponds and ditches designed to flood the cranberry fields on demand (most cranberries are harvested underwater: they float to the surface and are collected). Theirs is one of the largest of several cranberry farms in Nova Scotia, with more than 30 fields under cultivation and five different varieties being grown including Stevens and Pilgrim. On the day I visited, frozen cranberries were being packed in forty pound boxes destined for Russia! Our cranberries are exported all over the world and are renowned for their gorgeous colour: Louise told me that Nova Scotian cranberries are by far the reddest. 

The Red, Red Nova Scotia Cranberry
We've been buying fresh and frozen SunValley cranberries for years. For a time, they also supplied us with dried cranberries, but have since discontinued that line. However, we were thrilled to discover an almost-local source of dried cranberries and cranberry juice at Terra Beata Farms in Lunenburg. They also dry and juice Nova Scotia cherries and blueberries!

The cranberry harvest will be over soon, but cranberries last for weeks in your refrigerator and longer when frozen. There's no need for fancy preparation, just throw the whole bag into your freezer and they will be separate and intact when you're ready to use them. Don't bother to defrost them either, just be prepared to add a few extra minutes' cooking time to your recipe.

Cranberry Chutney


This is our spicier, thicker version of cranberry sauce. At the Union Street Cafe, we serve this chutney alongside our North Mountain Free Rangin' Hot Chicken Sandwich and our version of Duck Confit. It's also great mixed with an equal part of mayo and slathered on a turkey sandwich. This chutney keeps at least a week in the refrigerator.

1 medium Onion, diced
1 ½ C. Sugar
1 C. Water
4 C. Cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 t. Chinese 5-Spice or Garam Masala

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring from time to time. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until berries have broken down somewhat.  Let cool, then refrigerate.


Roasted Cranberry Vinaigrette

Serve this beautiful dressing on emerald Spinach leaves or mixed greens with Roasted Pears, Dragon's Breath Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecans as a celebration of the colder months of the year!

The Cranberry in its Natural Habitat!
2 C. Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1/3 C. Sugar
½ t. Salt
2/3 C. Olive Oil
1 T. Balsamic Vinegar
1 t. Dry Mustard
Freshly Ground Pepper
Red Wine Vinegar, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°. Toss the cranberries, sugar and salt together on a baking sheet and roast for about 15-20 minutes, until the cranberries begin to shrivel. Let cool, then scrape into a medium bowl and whisk in the olive oil, dry mustard and a few grinds of pepper. Taste and add a splash of balsamic vinegar if you like and thin with a spoonful of water if it's too thick. If you prefer, puree it in a blender for a smooth result.  This is very pretty spooned over greens.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

This is a tweak on Michael Smith's Chef at Home Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!

3 C. Flour
2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
1 C. Butter
2 C. Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 t. Vanilla
1 C. Dried Cranberries
1 C. White Chocolate, chopped (I use 1 Just Us! white chocolate bar)

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a large baking sheet or line with parchment.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Cream butter with brown sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, then beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour mixture, cranberries and white chocolate and stir until just combined.  Using a 1/4 C. measure, scoop dough onto baking sheet, spacing them out (cookies will spread).  Bake for about 15 minutes, until browning around the edges.


 A little piece of Cranberry field
I read this morning that at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever", John Lennon repeats the words "cranberry sauce".  
According to the Pacific Coast Cranberry website, "he stated it was a kind of icing on the cake of the weirdness of song, where anything he might have imagined saying would have been appropriate." 

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Our First Eggs!

My beautiful chickens laid two tiny eggs this morning.  It was better than Christmas morning!