Consider the Cranberry

Yes, let’s consider this pretty, native fruit for more than just a sweet jammy condiment to turkey once or twice a year; its popularity as a beverage is on the rise and its culinary value should increase as well. It’s a relatively inexpensive, local product that is available fresh in the fall and frozen all year with a nice tart taste that complements pork, game and fowl. It’s high in antioxidants, is useful in treating urinary tract infections, some stomach ulcers and gum disease!

That’s a lot of work for a little berry. I have also discovered that they are wonderful in baking, and to prove the point I’ve adapted a basic carrot cake recipe to increase its nutrional value, decrease saturated fat, refined flour and sugar while improving taste and texture. The first thing I did was to replace the canned pineapple with fresh cranberries (frozen work equally well), substituted extra-virgin olive oil for the butter, cut back the sugar by 75%, and deleted the white all-purpose flour using a mix of unbleached and whole wheat flours, and flax meal.

The extra-virgin olive oil not only improves the flavour and texture of the batter, it is high in anti-oxidants (omega3 fatty acids) and lowers LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol, raises the HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol and contains Vitamin E. Do not be tempted to substitute another vegetable oil, the flavour and nutritional benefits will be lost; likewise, extra-virgin olive oil is superior in its nutrients, flavour and viscosity to more processed, less purer forms such as virgin, pure or light olive oil.

In the dry ingredients, I consider the most important improvement to be the use of flax meal (which is ground flax seed). Linum usitatissimum, to use its botanical name meaning ‘most useful’, lives up to its reputation as it has since ancient times been used for cloth to make sails, sheets and shrouds, furniture oil, paints and polishes, intestinal medicaments and flour for baking; which is where I come in. Flax meal is recommended for lowering LDL cholesterol and is most efficacious in its ground form making its nutrients easily absorbed by our bodies, something the whole seed is not. Flax imparts a nice nutty flavour and its oils add moisture to batter or dough (it makes a very pretty garden plant as well). Also, the use of unbleached flour and whole wheat instead of white flour enhances the nutrient and fiber content.

Trimming the refined white sugar by 75%, but retaining natural sugars in the grated carrot lowers the calorie content and improves nutrition, especially as carrots are high in antioxidants, pro-vitamin A and carotenes; all of which are responsible for improved night vision, and protection against macular degeneration and cataracts.  So, try this recipe and enjoy the moist cake, tart cranberries and like your mother said, “Eat your carrots!”.

Since holiday season is drawing near, I have included this simple recipe for cranberry stuffed brie encroute (pictured) using frozen pizza dough, much less fatty than the puff-pastry version, easy to make and deliciously sumptuous and tangy to eat.

                                                        Cranberry-Carrot Muffins

                                          (makes 12 medium muffins or a 10” round cake)

Ingredients:

·         3 medium carrots, grated

·         2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries (if using frozen thaw and drain well)

·         3 eggs, lightly beaten

·         ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

·         1tsp. vanilla extract

·         4 tbsp. brown sugar

·         2 tsp baking soda and I tsp. baking powder

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         ½ cup whole wheat flour

·         1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

·         generous ½  cup flax meal

·         1 ½ tsp. of cinnamon

Method:  (this batter is best mixed by hand)

• Preheat oven to 350
• grease and flour 10” round cake pan or medium muffin pan for 12
• combine eggs, vanilla, and olive oil in a small bowl
• combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together
• add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stirring lightly to combine-do not beat! Mixture will be gooey at this stage.
• fold-in carrots, then cranberries
• spoon batter into prepared cake pan, or using an ice cream scoop, fill each well in the muffin tin (this method works brilliantly, one level scoop per muffin)
• bake for approx 25 mins., on centre rack, until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean

Cranberry Filled Brie Encroute

Ingredients:

·         One 450 gram wheel of brie

·         1 pkg. frozen pizza dough (thawed)

·         1 ½ cups fresh cranberries

·         ¼ cup white wine

·         1 sprig rosemary

·         1 tbsp. Honey

Method:

·         Combine cranberries, honey, rosemary and wine in a shallow saucepan, cover and cook over medium-high heat for 2 mins., stir, then cover and cook for  2-3 mins. more, until the cranberries begin to soften and the mixture thickens – do not overcook, the cranberries should retain some shape

·         Remove from heat, discard rosemary and chill mixture in refrigerator

·         Preheat oven to 375, line a heavy baking tray with parchment paper

·         Roll dough-out on a well floured board to a circle large enough to wrap the brie and be approx. ½” thick, too thin and the cheese will leak-out during cooking

·          rest dough on board

·         Cut brie in half, horizontally, remove top portion, place bottom in the middle of dough , spread cooled cranberry mixture to within ¼” of the edge, cover with  top portion

·         Carefully bring the edges of the dough up to cover the cheese snugly, do not stretch the dough

·          Gather the ends and twist them together and pinch closed, forming a purse, if there’s too much dough, trim-off excess

·         Carefully place brie on to prepared cooking tray, bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 15-20 mins., until dough puffs-up and browns lightly

·         Remove brie from oven and cut a few shallow steam-holes in the top, let cool for 15- 20 mins. before serving, the cheese will be runny, so serve in a slightly curved dish

photo by L. Gatto-White

 

Harvest Vegetable Pie

Harvest season brings out the best in the Maritimes; the weather is beautifully warm and sunny; flora in every woodlot, trail and ditch sport the reds, yellows and violets of autumn; the sweetness of late-ripening crops is intensified by the cool nights and light frosts; festivals and events, scarecrows and pumpkin people are born out of the creativity and enthusiasm in small towns and villages throughout the province. All these things warm and fortify us against the rigors of the coming winter.

One fall I was asked by the Hubbard’s Barn Farmer’s Market to participate in their Harvest Festival by creating dishes which highlight some of the vendor’s exceptional products which market-goers could sample and discuss for culinary inspiration. Of the two dishes I made, the Harvest Vegetable Pie with Goat Cheese Crust begged the most recipe requests.

Harvest Vegetable Pie has great vegetable taste because it hasn’t a sauce; its intense flavours come from the very finely sliced vegetables layered with a mixture of extra-virgin olive oil, finely diced red onion and fresh herbs encased in a no-fail goat or cream cheese crust. This pie is easy to make, the only specialized equipment you need is either a food-processor with a fine-slice blade, a box grater with a slice side, or a mandolin and a steady hand. This pie makes a great lunch or light dinner paired with soup and salad. Bon Appetit!

                                                    Harvest Vegetable Pie       

Ingredients:

Crust

·         1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

·         1/3 cup pastry flour 

·         1 ½ tsp. baking powder

·         1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

·         1 250 g. pkg. cream cheese or goat cheese  

·         ¼ tsp salt

Filling

The following 4 items are finely sliced vertically:

·         1 medium peeled sweet potatoe and 1 Yukon Gold potatoe

·         1 medium unpeeled zucchini

·         1 medium peeled parsnip or small turnip (optional)

·         2 roasted sweet peppers peeled, seeded and cut in 2” slices

·         1 medium red onion and 1 clove garlic  finely diced

·         ½ cup finely chopped green herbs, parsley, basil etc.

·         2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (don’t substitute)

·         ¼ tsp each salt and black pepper

·         3 tbs. breadcrumbs

·         1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

·         place all dry ingredients, and butter in food processor

·         pulse until coarse

·         add cheese and a few drops of water, pulse until mixture forms a ball (add a little more water if needed)

·         knead lightly and chill for 30 mins.

·         preheat oven to 400

·         toss vegetables in oil

·         combine onion, garlic, herbs and seasoning

·         roll-out enough dough to line an 8” cake pan or spring-form

·         layer vegetables beginning with potatoe, sprinkling each layer lightly with breadcrumbs and onion –herb mixture

·         roll-out dough for top crust, seal edges with beaten egg, crimp, slash steam holes and wash with remaining egg

·         cook for approx 30 mins., pierce with skewer to check for tenderness

Tin Can Scarecrows-Mahone Bay



There's More to Squash than Soup

photo by L. Gatto-White

Autumn is the season for everything yellow and orange in the landscape and in our bowls; we are surrounded by a variety of nutritious and delicious squash that we can roast, boil, puree and bake. Among the more traditional varieties are the savoury, starchy deep orange acorn and buttercup, on the yellow, lighter sweet side are delicata and spaghetti squash, somewhere in between lays the sweet and creamy butternut.

 All of these varieties have their different culinary uses according to their qualities, but I like the less starchy varieties, like spaghetti squash for soup and especially in biscuits. Adding a starch like potatoe or squash to a bread product not only adds nutrition and fiber, it enhances the texture and taste, making a quick biscuit more springy and moist like a yeast bun while the sugar in the squash imparts a subtle sweetness. I find that quick buns and breads made this way stay fresh longer too.

I use spaghetti squash in the buttermilk biscuit recipe because it isn’t too starchy or wet, so it keeps the biscuits light and airy. Also, baking the squash in foil keeps-in nutrients and makes it drier than boiling or microwaving. To utilize the excess cooked squash, measure it out in 1 cup portions, seal each in a baggy and freeze for when you want to make more biscuits, or use it to make the savoury curried squash and carrot soup, a good way to use up some of the buttermilk too. Bon Appetit!

Buttermilk Squash Biscuits

Makes 8 medium biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 ¾  cups self-rising flour
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 5 tbsp. firm unsalted butter
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup baked spaghetti squash (gently press-off excess moisture)
• ¾ cup buttermilk (shake carton well before pouring)
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Method:

• Halve raw, unpeeled squash, wrap each half in foil and bake in a 425 oven until soft, if making soup bake sweet potatoe at this time too, (approx. 40 mins.)
• cool squash and scoop-out flesh
•  Put all dry ingredients and cheese into a large mixing bowl and whisk together

• Using your fingers, lightly rub-in the butter to create a loose, crumbly texture
• With a fork, combine 1 cup of squash with the dry ingredients, then using a spatula stir-in 1/3 cup buttermilk (shake carton well as buttermilk separates)
• if mixture is dry add a little more buttermilk, if too wet add more flour until a light, firm but slightly sticky dough is achieved
• Turn-out on to a floured board and lightly knead for a minute or two until the dough is cohesive
• dust dough with flour and gently roll-out in a circle to a good 1” thick
• preheat oven to 425  and line a 10” round pie plate with parchment paper, spray with vegetable oil
• using a large round biscuit cutter, cut 8 rounds from the dough, re-roll scraps to make-up  the sufficient number
• place rolls in the pan and brush with remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with sesame seeds
• Place on middle rack in preheated oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes, until tops are lightly brown, remove from pan and cool on a cake rack.

  

Curried Squash and Carrot Soup

                                                                 Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 ½  tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
• 3 large carrots peeled and diced
• 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cubed (or baked –see above)
• 1 large leek – white part only, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tsp. curry paste  (mild or hot)
• ½ - ¾  cup fat free buttermilk
• salt and  pepper to taste

Method:

• in a soup pot heat oil, add ginger, carrots, potato (baked or raw) and leeks, sauté until slightly soft
• add curry paste, stir well to coat vegetables
• add stock, simmer loosely covered until vegetables are cooked (approx. 30 mins.)
• stir-in cooked squash
• puree soup, stir-in buttermilk
• taste and adjust seasoning