Posts tagged with farmers market

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March 17, 2013

Maple Nut Squares

maple nut 2

Hot damn I love me some Nova Scotia maple syrup. I’ll admit, it wasn’t until I was in my 20s that it made its way into my fridge; we were an Aunt Jemima family back in the day. I had no idea what I was missing out on! Now, maple syrup is a staple sweetener in my house, not just for our weekend pancake feasts, but drizzled over morning oatmeal, even stirred into coffee or tea for a sweet-tooth-quashing evening treat.

My friend’s family started a maple tapping operation not quite 10 years ago, in the beautiful Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Hutchinson Acres farm grew gradually, from just a small parcel of land, to now over 25,000 taps over 1,500 acres of land. So awesome! They are super nice people with a product that I am just a massive fan of.

I had a jug of their Hutchinson Acres amber maple syrup that I was just begging to incorporate into a dinner party dessert this past Saturday. I went on the hunt for a recipe that didn’t require a trip to the grocery store. Ha! Only the best, for my guests, right? Um, yes. That is right! Because this amazingly simple, yet decadent treat was a complete home-run.

maple nut 3

Real life quote: “Quite possibly the best dessert I’ve ever had.” – Andrew Russell, 2013.

We had 9 people sitting around the dinner table last night, every one of them was left scraping the plate, ooh-ing and ahhh-ing. It made up for the brutally overcooked roast beef I did. There won’t be blog post on that one, folks!

Do feel free to switch the nuts up, and top with a generous dollop of unsweetened or lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. It’ll counterbalance the sweetness of the square and really balance it out. Plus it looks a little fancier!

Having this perfectly sweet ending to dinner made me look really forward to next weekend, when a bunch of friends and I are heading to the second-last installment of the Feisty Chef Acadian Maple Brunches in Tantallon, NS. It’s a full-blown maple bonanza with baked beans, pancakes, scrambled egg and meats. All you can eat too. Check it out, here!

Now, on to the recipe! Do your best to find locally-sourced maple to make this an extra special treat that will become a favourite in your dessert repertoire.Ingredients:

Maple Nut Squares

From Food.com

Serves 9

Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
Topping
1 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 dash salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts, like walnuts or pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F degrees. Stir together 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1/4 cup brown sugar until mixed well. Press into 8-inch square baking pan and compact onto the bottom with fingers.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Turn oven up to 400°F degrees.

Combine maple syrup and 2/3 cup brown sugar in saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool to lukewarm and stir in butter until melted. Stir in eggs. Stir in pecans, vanilla, and flour until mixed well.

Pour mixture over partially baked crust.

Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking another 20 minutes until the top bubbles.

Let cool, set in fridge if necessary to firm up.

Serve with a big ol’ dollop of whipped cream!

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March 7, 2013

Zuppa di Pesce

zuppa di pesce

Being an East-Coast girl, I never have any shortage of beautiful, fresh fish available at the market near my house. Being able to talk to the fisherman who pulled my to-be-supper from the sea is only one of the many awesome things about calling the Maritimes home.

But you know where else is awesome?

ITALY!

And I’m going there in just 7 weeks. It’ll be my second time there and I’m just beyond stoked. Hitting the road with my man for a romantic vacay, which will revolve around absolutely sickening quantities of gelato and cheese and sightseeing and wine and gelato. Mark my words…some day I may be at the helm of a gelato empire…or simply the 1# supporting customer of someone’s else’s. I have a deep admiration for the stuff and pledged to eat it every single day last time I visited Italy. And just in case there was any doubt in your mind…I did accomplish that feat. Some days I doubled up. NBD.

In anticipation for my Italian romp, I have been hitting the burpees and laying off the butter. 2012 has been a bonkers year for me, and yep, I’m a little rounder than I’d like to be. So the gym’s back on my daily agenda and the corkscrew has been shelved for a few weeks. It feels good to be working on a squeaky clean diet again and getting creative in the kitchen!

I had a couple of buds over for supper the other night and really wanted to make something special and interesting, yet light. Often when I’m at an Italian restaurant I’ll order the seafood soup as a starter or a light main, and it’s never steered me wrong. Firm chunks of white fish, shellfish, and veggies in a herbed broth; perfect for dunking a crusty wedge of buttered baguette. Top with a some torn basil leaves and little shredded parmesan cheese and you’ll wish that your soup bowl went on for days.

Zuppa di Pesce

Serves 4 (very generous portions)

 

Generous glug of olive oil

1 onion, small chop

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 slices bacon, diced

28 oz can diced tomatoes

2/3 cup dry white wine

1 cup clam juice (found usually in the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store)

1 cup water/veg broth

4 basil leaves, torn

1 cup cannellini beans (canned or rehydrated)

2 cups swiss chard, chopped

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 lb freshest white fish, like haddock, halibut, cod, monkfish

1 lb cooked, peeled & tailed shrimp

Salt & Pepper to taste

……..

Sautee chopped onions and garlic in large, heavy bottomed pot (I used my Creuset dutch oven) in olive oil on low-med heat until onions are softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, for another few minutes.

Add tomatoes, wine, clam juice, stock/water and basil, and 1 tbsp parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add beans and swiss chard. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. At this point you can analyze the thickness and adjust it to your liking. Adding broth to thin it out or simmering a little longer to cook off some of the liquid. Soup’s the best for being oh-so-easy to get along with.

Add the fish and cook for 5 minutes, or until it’s opaque. Add the shrimp and heat through gently for 3 minutes.

Just before serving, adjust the seasoning again to your liking. It will vary for everyone depending on what combination of wine/juice/water/broth you’ve used.

Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish with remaining chopped parsley and serve immediately. Best accompanied by a big loaf of crusty Italian bread!

 

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January 21, 2013

Blomidon Inn Bread

breadJanuary sometime feels like a heavy blanket spread over over a cranky kid at bedtime. It’s often opposed with some kicking and screaming, but know we need it to straighten out and freshen up. Embrace January, people. It’s a good thing.

Resolution for this kid? Well, they’re few. When it comes to food – getting really in to quality over quantity, learning more about the story behind the meals that grace my plate, and getting back to the basics.

bread ingredients

 

What’s more basic than baking bread? Well – nothing, and lots at the same time. It’s something that we’ve been doing for thousands of years – but any rookie will inform you that crafting the perfect loaf’s no joke. That said, all you need to get your started is some patience and some good tunes to fuel you through the day as you waft in and out of the kitchen, to check, knead, check, knead, bake, and enjoy. I used some of the region’s best local products, Speerville organic oats and Crosby’s molasses from New Brunswick and the gorgeous Hutchinson’s maple syrup from the Annapolis Valley here in Nova Scotia. I didn’t have quite enough molasses, so topped it up with maple, so glad I did. Added an extra little dimension of sweetness.

dough

Butter this bread up. Adorn it with molasses. Sharp cheddar too? Hells yes. Nothing will warm your heart and belly like a slice of this on a snowy January day.

The recipe hails from my most recent cookbook infatuation, ‘Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces’ by Elizabeth Baird. It was contributed to this amazing recipe compilation by the Blomidon Inn in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. It was so good coming out of my oven for the first time, I can’t imagine how fantastic it must be after (presumably) years and years of production there.

Blomidon Inn Bread

Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces – Elizabeth Baird

1 cup large-flake rolled oats (I used Speerville NewFound oats from NB)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1.25 cups molasses (I used about 3/4 c molasses and 1/2 c maple syrup)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups hot water

1/4 cup butter

1 cup warm water

3 tbsp active dry yeast

1/2 tbsp sugar

7 cups all-purpose flour

In one bowl, stir together first 6 ingredients and let cool to lukewarm. In a separate bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Wait a moment until the yeast gets foamy and stir it around to make sure it is well distributed.

In a stand mixer, combine oat mixture and yeast mixture and mix at lowest speed until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in one cup of flour at a time. You want the dough to be firm, but not dry or sticky.
Turn the dough on to a work surface and knead it for about 5 minutes, until the dough is stretchy and elastic.
Divide the dough in half and shape it into loaves. Place it into two well-greased/parchment lined loaf pans. Cover the loaves and let them rise in a warm spot until the dough is about 1 inch over the top of the loaf pan, about 60-75 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 350F, pop them in for between 25-30 minutes. Mine took a solid 30. To test for doneness, tap on the loaves, when they sound hollow inside, they’re done!
Remove from pans and cool on a rack. Enjoy warm, toasted, for sandwiches, or freeze a loaf for later! It is super hearty and will hold up no problem.

 

 

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January 5, 2013

Cranberry Streusel Muffins

While recovering from the smorgasbord of indulgence that is the holidays, you’d think the last thing I’d want to do was some ‘just ‘cuz’ baking. But I woke up on a Sunday wanting to put some gorgeous Nova Scotian cranberries to good use. My guy is pretty picky about the fruit he eats, really not being tolerant of anything but berries. Knowing this, and just wanting to get my rocks off in the kitchen, I decided to throw all brown flour/low fat substitutes to the wind and just whip up a batch of big, fluffy, moist muffins that would be sure to wow him, and be a perfect accompaniment to a cuppa on chilly weekend mornings!
The original recipe had a yield of 18 but I made mine jumbo-sized and got a dozen. They hardly lasted the day! The streusel really puts them over the top, and just like a muffin from your favourite neighbourhood cafe, these are going to slap a big smile on your face. This recipe was slightly altered from another Atlantic Canadian recipe site, Rock Recipes!

Cranberry Streusel Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.25 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 cups cranberries - fresh or frozen
  • For Streusel
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin.

In a medium sized bowl, mix baking powder and flour together. In another bowl, add lemon juice to milk. Set both bowls aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk eggs, sugar and extracts until soft peaks form. Slowly add butter and vegetable oil in a drizzle to egg and sugar mixture while continuing to whisk.

Now add milk/lemon juice mixture to the rest of the wet ingredients, continuing to whisk in stand mixer at a reduced speed.

Once all wet ingredients are incorporated, fold in dry mixture until just mixed. Do no\\\'t overmix - some lumps are totally okay!

Finally, fold in the cranberries.

Now to make the streusel.

Mix baking powder, oats, flour and brown sugar. Mix cold butter in with your fingertips and smush it around until it becomes a crumbly, buttery mixture.

Once streudel is all set, scoop muffin batter in to liner cups and top each one with a generous and likely messy dose of streusel. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a wooden test stick/skewer comes out clean.

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