Pear Jam

September 17, 2013 Sonte Leave a comment

I wish I was a Canner, alas, I am not. Why then, did I purchase 20 pounds of pears?! I’ll tell you why; because I love canned pears! One of these days I will have to brave the world of home canning but that day is not today as I do not have a canner or the jars or the patience to learn something new.

What do I know? Jam. I know jam. Not many people know that Pear Jam is simply the best! You don’t find it on grocery store shelves but will find it in quirky little shops in farming communities. I love the way the house smells when I make pear jam. I like the way pear jam looks in the pantry. I like the gorgeous colour of the stuff. I could eat it straight out of the jar but I am a grown up now and grown ups don’t do that, right?

If you have never had pear jam, you simply have to give it a go; it is so very easy to make! I found this super simple recipe for Countryside Pear Jam and loved it because: a) only four ingredients b) did not call for Certo Pectin – that stuff is expensive! My 20 pound box of pears yielded me two batches of pear jam; one I cooked straight away and one I prepped and put in the freezer for later this winter when things get dreary. I also made a Pear Cobbler which required A LOT of pears! The remaining few pears I kept for eating out of hand

Lightly spiced Pear Jam

8 cups Pears, peeled and chopped
4 cups Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground Cloves
splash of Vanilla

Peel and chop pears into 8cup measuring cup.
Pour into large stainless steel pot.
Stir in sugar, cinnamon and cloves; bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 60 to 90 minutes.
Stir in a splash of vanilla.
Remove the jam from heat, stir and skim off foam for about 10 minutes to prevent floating fruit.
Ladle jam into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4″ headroom.
Wipe rims with a clean towel and seal.
Allow the jars to cool on a clean towel before storing in fridge for up to 6 months for unopened jars.

If you want to keep jam in the pantry then you will need to process your sealed jars in a boiling water canner for 10 to 11 minutes.
Remove from canner and allow to cool completely on clean tea towel before storing in a cool, dark place.

* I didn’t using the canning process because, quite frankly, I don’t see this jam hanging around for very long! I will give some away and keep some in the fridge.

Beef

Tater Tot Casserole

September 17, 2013 Sonte Leave a comment

After a very long weekend of preparing fruit for the freezer, a toddler underfoot and 2 great big dogs demanding attention I had run out of energy but still needed to get dinner on the table to feed said Toddler. If left to my own devices? A bowl of cereal would have been sufficient!
Alright, so Kid-Friendly food, requires no effort on my part and yet will satisfy the adults in the house? hmmm, I had seen Tater Tot Casserole on Pinterest, it came through my Facebook feed…might as well give it a go. I googled it and came up with a gazillion recipes! When inundated with responses like that I search out recipes from my Tried and True sites: Kraft (not that I use a lot of their product but I like their site’s format), Canadian Living, Taste of Home, Food Network. I went with the Kraft one as it was the top Hit; after reading some of the reviews I made a couple of little changes: added McCormicks Beef Stock cube and a layer of Fresh Spinach (to up the nutritional value!) and a handful of halved Grape Tomatoes for colour. Head on over to Kraft for the original version of Tater-Topped Casserole.
The verdict? Toddler didn’t like the taters! Or the Spinach…to which Grandpa said that perhaps Benny needed to start watching Popeye to learn the value of Spinach! Hah! Grandpa thought it tasted like Hamburger Stroganoff and Ryan said it was a coronary waiting to happen and I wasn’t to make it again because it tasted so good he could have eaten the entire casserole on his own! It had ground beef in it so I didn’t have any…will have to give it another go using Yves Just Like Ground Round just so I personally can see what all the fuss is about.

Everyone has to try Tater Tot Casserole at least once!

1 lb Ground Beef
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 large Mushrooms, sliced
1 McCormick’s Beef Stock cube, crumbled
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 – 4 cups Fresh Spinach – 2 big handfuls of Fresh Spinach
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 lb Frozen Tater Tots, or enough to cover casserole

Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly spray 9″x13″ Pyrex casserole dish with vegetable oil spray.

In large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat and sautee onions for a few minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, stir in garlic and continue cooking for a few more minutes.
Add ground beef, breaking it up and browning evenly.
Add crumbled beef stock cube, mushroom soup and sour cream; stir and cook until heated through.
Pour into prepared baking dish.
Top beef mixture with a layer of fresh spinach followed by a layer of tater tots.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese; return to oven and continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Serves 6 – 8

Tater Tot Casserole with Roasted Cauliflower and Garden Salad

Side Dishes

Cashew Rice Pilaf

September 16, 2013 Sonte Leave a comment

This recipe came through my Facebook feed from Budget Bytes the other day and I thought I might have all the ingredients in my pantry; only had to make a few substitutions and have another on deck for the next time I make this.
Now maybe my pilaf fell a little flat because I used Basmati rice instead of Jasmine but I am more likely to have Basmati rice in the pantry over Jasmine so I will just make that work by adding a McCormick’s Vegetable Stock cube the next time I make it. Also, try as I might, I simply cannot grown a kitchen herb garden! Every time I buy fresh cilantro it goes off before I have a chance to use it so I just left it out. I threw in a bit of fresh chopped parsley (Because who can’t grow that stuff!?) which added lovely colour but not a whole lot of flavour.

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 cups Basmati Rice
1/2 chopped Cashews
1/4 cup dried Currants
3 cups Water
1 McCormick’s Vegetable Stock cube
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Bay Leaf
A few sprigs Cilantro, chopped

In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat.
Cook onion for 2 minutes then stir in minced garlic, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon and continue cooking for another 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add the rice, turn the heat up a notch; cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Add the cashews, currants, water, vegetable stock cube, salt and bay leaf; stir to combine.
Turn the heat all the way up and bring the pot to a boil; reduce the heat as soon as it comes to a full boil, put the lid on and turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes, with lid on.
Remove lid, fluff the rice with a fork.
Gently stir in chopped cilantro.
Serve hot.

Serves 6

About, Seafood

Salmon Burger

September 16, 2013 Sonte Leave a comment

Earlier this year I made Salmon Burgers using raw salmon which went over very well with the meat eaters in our house but my Aunty Ginny recently gave me some canned salmon so thought I would try a Salmon Burger using that…As the Cook, I preferred using the canned salmon over the raw! Those that consumed the Burgers liked both versions, helpful Souls that they are when it comes to critiquing my fare!

Rather than googling a recipe I resorted to my tried and true source and found, “Savoury Fish Patties” Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook, Everything you Need to Know to Cook, 8th Edition, A Simon and Schuster Macmillan Company, New York, NY, Macmillan, 1996, 188. Print
I made a few slight changes: I always have bread crumbs in the pantry/freezer so used the measured amount over the two torn slices of bread, substituted dill for the marjoram and forgot the dry mustard altogether.

3 cups canned Salmon
1/2 cup chopped Onion
1 1/3 cup Bread Crumbs
2 large Eggs, beaten
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon dried Dill
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Pepper, to taste

Olive Oil, for frying

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Shape into 6 large patties.
Heat oil in a 10″ Skillet over medium heat.
Cook patties in oil for about 5 minutes, carefully turn over and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Remove to serving platter.
Serve with Boathouse Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce.

Serves 6

Vegetarian

Vegetable Pie

August 12, 2013 Sonte Leave a comment

I have been making this recipe so long that the recipe page is now sandwiched between two layers of packing tape so that it will not deteriorate any further! I got the recipe from a Tupperware dealer when Ultra21’s were all the rage! I loved those so much! I have long since lost the Ultra 21 and now use a 10″Springform pan instead. I like how easy it is to serve from a Springform pan and how easy a Springform is to clean!

: My Very Favourite Vegetable Pie

Crust:
1/2 cup Butter
1 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain Yogurt
Filling:
3 cups finely chopped Broccoli (it is important that all your veggies [use a combo of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peppers, Grated Carrot, Mushrooms] are finely chopped with the exception of zucchini)
1/3 cup diced Onion
Topping:
1 cup Grated Cheddar, or a combination of cheeses: Monterey Jack, Mozza, Swiss, a sprinkle of Parmesan, loosely equal to a cup of grated cheese
2 medium Tomatoes, sliced
1/3 cup Mayo combined with 2 Tablespoons plain Yogurt
8 fresh Basil leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Basil

Preheat oven to 450F. (230C)
Prepare a 20″ Springform pan by spraying with Vegetable Oil Spray and lightly dusting with cornmeal. Or use the same size Quiche pan.
In mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add yogurt and stir until the dough comes together.
Press the dough into prepared baking pan and, if using a springform pan, halfway up the sides.
Layer filling over crust in order given.
In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup Mayo and 2 Tbsp Plain Yogurt; spread this over the Vegetable Filling.
Top with grated cheese(s).
Arrange sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves on top. (If using dried basil, sprinkle on top of cheese(s)

Bake at 450F for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350F (175C) and bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, let stand for 15 minutes, serve.