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

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Sure Sign of Spring: The Local Hothouse Tomato


See this?  It is a Den Haan's hothouse tomato.  It is not from Mexico, has not traveled thousands of miles to get here and is not months old.  It looks like a tomato.  It smells like a tomato.  It even tastes like a tomato! Hallelujah!  More sure than even the sight of Roll-Up-the-Rim cups littering the highways, its presence at your local grocery store is a sure sign of spring in Nova Scotia.

I really do limit my tomato consumption in winter.  Den Haan's takes a break from growing during the darkest months, and tomatoes from Florida and Mexico are picked by people in seriously undesirable working conditions.  You can read the article Politics of the Plate:The Price of Tomatoes here.  Plus, they taste bad, not an insignificant factor for me.

Den Haan's tomatoes are as close as we can get right now to full garden flavour, and I'm grateful to them for providing this to us!  We have been enjoying them chopped up and folded into scrambled eggs in the last minute of cooking, in thick slices on toast with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and diced into a simple and delicious fresh salsa. 

Union Street Salsa

At the Cafe, we make this in quantity with good quality canned tomatoes .  It's great.  But this, made minutes before consumption, is superb.  You substitute 1 can diced tomatoes, drained slightly, if all the tomatoes at your store are imports.

2 C. chopped Tomato
1/4 C. minced Red or Yellow Onion
1 small Green Pepper, diced
1/4 C. Banana Peppers, minced
1 t. Cumin, toasted and ground
1/4 C. chopped fresh Cilantro
1/4 t. Salt

Combine in a bowl and taste.  Add a little more salt if you like, maybe a dash of hot sauce, maybe a smidgen of garlic.  Welcome spring!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Saint Patrick's Day Birthday Feast

Plate No. 1

Tomorrow is my son's birthday.  He was born on St. Patrick's Day, six years ago.  It was cloudy and grey, there was snow in the woods, and David Myles was playing at the Cafe.  We loved the fact that there will always be a great party on his birthday.  He has plenty of Irish heritage, so bring on the jigs and reels!  And the Irish food.

We're celebrating tonight with Boiled Dinner with Grammie's Mayonnaise.  Doesn't that sound delicious? How about Corned Beef with Winter Vegetables and Sweet Mustard Sauce...better?   The sauce, my great-grandmother's recipe, is rich and vintage-ly scrumptious, and the rest of the meal can be too.  You've got to start with a decent piece of beef, and cook it patiently.   We buy our corned beef from Meadowbrook Meat Market, where they cure it themselves.  A 2 lb. chunk will serve about 6 people.  I'm not usually tempted by boiled vegetables, let alone meat, but you will have to trust me on this!

Corned Beef with Winter Vegetables and Sweet Mustard Sauce

2 lb. Corned Beef
10 Peppercorns
1 Bay Leaf
1 very small head Green Cabbage, cut into 6 wedges (leave the core in so it stays together)
3 large Carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 small Turnip, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
6 small Potatoes, cut in half

In a large pot, place the beef, peppercorns and bay leaf.  Add enough water to cover and bring to a simmer over high heat.  Reduce to low, cover, and simmer for 3 hours, or until a fork can easily penetrate to the center.  Remove the beef and let it rest while you cook the vegetables (leave the cooking water in the pot).  Throw the cabbage, carrots, turnip and potatoes in, top up with water to cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and cook for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Slice the beef thinly against the grain and serve with the vegetables and Sweet Mustard Sauce.

Grammie's Mayonnaise (Sweet Mustard Sauce)
Don't ask me why it's called Mayonnaise

3 Egg Yolks
1 T. Flour
2 T. Sugar
1 t. Salt
2 t. Dry Mustard
1 1/4 C. Milk
1T. Cider Vinegar
3 T. Butter

In a small heavy pot, whisk the yolks, flour, sugar, salt and dry mustard.  When they are smooth, add the milk and vinegar and set over low heat.  Whisk frequently as the sauce heats and thickens, about ten minutes .  Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Is it Spring?


The snow melted.  I know that it's still winter really, but I stepped outside barefoot today.  It was squishy.  Nova Scotia winters are strange, unpredictable from one year to the next.  Tomorrow there could be a huge snowfall and we'd be back in wonderland again.  There are reliable signs that spring is arriving, though; pussywillows, budding trees, and the drip of sap in the bucket.  And light, beautiful spring light, creeping into our unconscious and stirring up feelings of new beginnings, renewed energy, and hard work ahead.  Winter is restful if you let it be so.  I loved the slow down of the restaurant, the early evenings in bed and lazy mornings by the fire.  I am reluctant to see any season go.

Melting Snow Running off the North Mountain

Early Spring Bonfire

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A Miracle in Cabbage

Sean and I went out for a pre-Valentine's dinner a few weeks ago at the Library Pub, a lovely spot in Wolfville with fresh and lovingly made food. Love is an essential ingredient of good cooking, a seasoning that hasn't yet been duplicated by large scale food processors and never will be.  We shared, among other delicious things, a red cabbage salad with feta and sesame.  Only love could transform the stalwart cabbage; reliable, economical, and readily available; into a dish that we nearly fought over. It's perfect: salty, a little sweet from the cabbage and a touch of honey, nutty with sesame oil and a little creamy from the feta.  This is my version, not theirs, and although I'm certain it isn't exactly the same, it is very delicious.  Bonus:if you store the salad overnight, some juice will collect at the bottom of the bowl which you can pour off and let your kids experiment with.  Rowan and I had a blast turning it pink with vinegar, dribbling in oil, turning it back to blue with baking soda, and so on.

Red Cabbage Salad with Feta and Sesame

1 T. Soy Sauce
1 T. Honey
1/2 clove Garlic, minced
2 T. Sesame Oil
1 T. White Wine Vinegar
1/4 head Red Cabbage, cut into small wedges, then sliced fine
1/3 C. crumbled Feta

In a large bowl, whisk the soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil and vinegar together.  Add the cabbage and toss thoroughly to coat, then sprinkle in the feta and toss again.   This is great right away, but even better after it sits in the fridge a while.