Garlic Scape Bread

The garlic scape is a new and trendy local ingredient.  The garlic scape is an early off shot of the garlic plant and is so yummy because it offers a mild garlic taste.  You can easily replace garlic scapes in recipes that call for garlic and so I decided to make Garlic Scape Bread, and then made it again and again.  Big Critic and all the other critics who've tasted it have given it rave reviews.  So easy in this BBQ season.

Garlic Scape Bread 

• Loaf of bread (i used a sourdough loaf from the market)
• Three garlic scapes (Ont)
• 1/2 stick of butter (Ont)

Chop the scapes into a few pieces and place them along with the softened butter into a small food processor.  Puree well.  Slice the bread and spread the garlic scape puree on one side of the bread and remake the loaf. Wrap in tin foil and place on the top rack of the BBQ while whatever your are making is cooking; or you can just heat it up in the oven.  The bread should be warmed through but does not need to cook for long. 

What'll you charge me if i take the rest?

That's what I said to a guy selling 15 bunches of asparagus at my local Farmer's Market last Saturday.  Like how many pickles did I think I could make?  I was able to put to bed 6L of asparagus pickles and another frozen bag of asparagus in about an hour and half.  Surprisingly, it took no time.  And we've got to grab all this asparagus while it is here.  OK, I know, I'm getting sick of it too, but it's here for a few weeks of the year, so if you think you'll want it again, buy some, freeze it or make pickles!  This wonderful vegetable has recently been proven to lower a man's PSA levels, the indicator for prostate cancer.  Imagine all the benefits we don't even know about!

 

How to Preserve in Jars

You have to be careful with canning, but there is less concern with things preserved in vinegar.  You can boil the jars in a big pot to sterilize, but I prefer to wash them and bake them in the oven at 500 for 20 min.  This way they are out of the way and I don't like to have an extra big pot going on the stove if I can help it.  Then you can just boil the lids and rings in a small pot of water to sterilize.  Once jars are packed with vegetable and vinegar mixture place the lid on a clean rim and tighten the ring to finger tightness.  Place all the jars that need processing into a large empty pot of water.  Fill the pot with water and then remove the jars and place the pot with the perfect amount of water on the stove to boil.  Make sure you something that keeps the jars off the bottom of the pot.  Once the water is boiling, insert the jars and boil for 10 mins.  Remove the jars and allow to cool.  One of my favorite noises in the world is that satisfying "pop" you hear each time a jar seals itself.

Pickled Asparagus - Three Ways

Make an asparagus ruler, by trimming asparagus to fit the size of the jars you are using.  While the jars are baking, wash the asparagus and trim to the same size as the asparagus ruler.  If you have really long asparagus, cut off the woody ends and make a jar of just stems with the middle portion.  These are great in potato salad. Remove the jars and allow to cool till you can touch them.  Prepare the vinegar mixture in a pot and bring to a boil.  Choose a flavour for your asparagus and place the seasonings in the jar followed by as much asparagus as you can get in there.  Use the end of a wooden spoon or spatula to push asparagus aside so you can shove in some more. Fill each jar to an inch below the brim with the vinegar mixture and place on a sterilized lid and process for 10 LBS.   

Vinegar Mixture
This is sufficient for one 1L jar, so multiple based on how many jars you filled.
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 TBLS sugar

Garlic Asparagus
5 peppercorns
2 green garlic
1 fresh bay leaf (omit if you don't have fresh)

Dill Asparagus
5 pepper corns
1 fresh bay leaf
2 large sprigs of fresh dill
1 tsp of dill seed

Hot Asparagus
5 pepper corns
1 fresh bay leaf
hot pepper flakes - quantity determined by how hot you want it!

Beet and Fennel Salad

Big Critic had McDonald's for lunch yesterday, due to a 16KM bike ride followed by a 10KM run.  I can't judge him that, but then he asked for "something healthy" for dinner.  How about a couple of salads and some local artisan cheese?  I served A Beet and Fennel salad with asparagus, just because the red and green looks so good together and also made a simple green salad with tomatoes and beans.  Big Critic was a bit neutral on the beet salad, but Little Critic had two helpings and lots of beans.  She must have been hungry!  I will definitely make this one again.  Also, it is very exciting that some colours other than green are arriving.  These spring beets and fennel were very tender and with garlic scapes here my recipe options just grew!

Beet and Fennel Salad

• 6 spring beets with the green tops removed and saved for a different meal (Ont)
• 1 small fennel bulb (Ont)
• 2 TBS of fresh dill (Ont)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1 garlic scape (Ont)
• 3 TBS of EVOO
• 3 TBS white vinegar
• S&P

Place the beets in a pot of water and boil until cooked through.  Place all the beets until cold running water and rub the skins off.  Really, who has time to peel beets before cooking them!

Julienne the cooked beets and the fennel bulb.  Easy to do if you have a mandolin.  Puree the feta cheese, dill, oil, vinegar and S&P in the blender or bullet.  Cover the vegetables in the dressing and allow to marinate in the fridge for 30 min before serving. 

Strawberries with Rhubarb Sauce

Strawberries are here!  The Ontario strawberries are everywhere and each is tastier than the next.  No recipe required, just wash and eat. 

It is not surprising that strawberries and rhubarb are in season at the same time.  They were really meant to be enjoyed together.  The tastness of the rhubarb with the sweetness of the strawberries.  It is no wonder that it is a favorite pie flavour to many.

But with the summer heating up, who wants pie!  So this dessert is perfect. Just stew four stalks of rhubarb with 1/2 of water and 1/4 cup of maple sugar in a pot and bring to a boil and then simmer until the rhubarb is a thick sauce.  Allow to cool in the fridge and serve on fresh strawberries.  Simply delicious.

Green Onion Pancake

I learned to make Green Onion Pancakes at a Chinese Food cooking course I took, and they are so tasty and easy to make.  This time of year, our onions and garlic are not really ready yet.  We have green garlic and some onions left from last year, but right now green onions are plentiful, so this is a great side dish to really anything.  We made this version with whole wheat flour which gave it more of an Indian Chapati flare!

Green Onion Pancake

• 2 cups of flour (Ont if you can find it!)
• Water (just enough to make a wet dough)
• 1 cup of chopped green onions (Ont)
• 1/4 cup canola oil (again, Ont if you can find it)
• pinch of salt

Place all the flour on a clean dry surface and make a little well for the water.  Add a little at the start and then continue to add a few drops at a time until you have a dough that is a nice consistency to be rolled out.  Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough as thin as you possibly can.  You should have one large circle of dough.  Brush the entire surface with half the oil, sprinkle with salt and spread the onions over the whole surface.  Next start at one side and roll up the dough, with the onions inside, into a tight cigar shape.  Now, take one end of the cigar and roll it tightly into a spiral circle.  It should make one large thick circle of dough.  Next, take the rolling pin over the pancake and roll it as thin as you can.  Be careful not to use too much pressure as the onions will start to pop through all those lovely layers of dough. 

Either brush the rest of the oil on the pancake and bake in 375 oven for 15 min, or use the oil to fry the pancake on both sides.  Cut into triangles and serve.  The outside should be a bit crispy, but the instead should be like a pastry.  Enjoy!

It's not easy being green

Let's face it, they recommend that you "eat a rainbow" but when we are in spring, this rainbow is varying shades of green.  Everything we can get right now is green!  Bok choy, lettuces, spinach, green onions, asparagus, nettles, fiddleheads, arugula!  We have potatoes and apples left over from last year, but they are starting to feel like end of season produce.  So, here are four of my most recent "Green" recipes.  All quick and easy for a busy working family!

 

 

 

 

Fiddleheads with Bacon

• 
  
  1 lbs Fiddleheads (Ont)
• 
  
  2 green onions (Ont)
• 
  
  1 hot house tomato (Ont)
• 
  
  6 strips of bacon (Ont)

Cut bacon into tiny pieces and stir fry in a large pan.  Add the fiddleheads and saute until cooked through.  Add the diced tomato and green onion.  Cook until heated through, season with S&P and serve.  This recipe will be worth trying with the fiddleheads that were frozen. 

 

Creamy Nettles

• 
  
  3 cups stinging nettles (Ont)
• 
  
  1 cup spinach (Ont)
• 
  
  2 shallots (Ont)
• 
  
  3 TBS butter (Ont)
• 
  
  1/2 cup cream (Ont)
• 
  
  1/2 cup goat cheese (Ont)

Submerge nettles into a pot of boiling water until wilted and nettles have softened; about 2 min.  Remove from water and allow to cool.  Chop the nettles very finely.  In a pan saute the shallot in the butter.  Once wilted, add the chopped nettles and continue to saute.  Add the cream and goat cheese and allow a think sauce to form.  Add in the chopped spinach and stir just until wilted.  Serve immediately.

 

 

 

I don't usually like to do salad recipes, because to me, a salad should be made up of whatever produce you have on hand.  This salad however is representative of what we have available in our refrigerators right now!  And yes, bok choy is not just for cooking, it makes a great salad!  Quantities are left out, because it's up to you how much you want to make.

 

Simple Springtime Salad

• 
  
  Arugula(Ont)
• Bok choy (Ont)
• 
  
  Boston Lettuce (Ont)
• 
  
  Green Onions (Ont)
• 
  
  Parley (Ont)
• Chives (Ont)
• 
  
  Apple Cider Vinegar (Ont)
• 
  
  EVOO

Take even amounts of arugula, bok choy and lettuce, wash and tear into bite sized pieces.  Chop green onions and add to the lettuces.  Put herbs, vinegar and oil in the blender with a pinch of S&P and pour over salad when ready to serve. 

 

 

 

 

Cold Spinach Soup 

We are a soup family, but as the weather is heating up, who wants hot soup, so this one is cold.  Of course, it can be heated too, if you like hot soup.  Also, I had a lot of chicken bones left over from BBQ chicken, so chicken stock was made and needed to be used up!

• 3 large white potatoes (Ont)
• 1 red onion (Ont)
• 3 TBS butter (Ont)
• 3 stalk of Oregano (Ont)
• 4 cups chicken stock or water
• 3 cups spinach (Ont)
• 1 cup of milk (Ont)

In a large pot heat the butter and saute the onion and potato.  Once the onion has started to caramelize, cover with chicken stock and through in the oregano (who has time to pick each oregano leaf off the stalk?)  Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are very soft.  Remove the oregano stalks (most of the leaves will have fallen off into the soup) and remove from heat.  Using a submersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.  Next add the uncooked spinach into the hot soup and puree.  Allow to cool and thin with milk or dairy alternative.  Serve with bread as all soup should be!!

Preserving the Asparagus

And lastly we have asparagus!  The awesome vegetable that can be grilled, steamed, pureed, fried, pickled and ..... hopefully frozen.  Last year I made Spicy Asparagus Pickles and they were amazing.  We were done them by Christmas and any pickled asparagus that I bought after that was fully enjoyed by Little Critic.  So, I do plan to make some pickled asparagus this year, non spicy versions too, but honestly have not had the time.  It is too early in the season to be out of steam! 

I decided to try to freeze some.  I know that frozen asparagus cannot be thawed and then grilled like fresh asparagus, but I plan to use frozen asparagus in sauces or pureed in soups. 

The whole process of saving asparagus took about 15 min. Truly it was very fast and I was able to freeze 10 lbs of asparagus from my organic bin.

Frozen Asparagus

While they are still bundled in elastics cut off the woody ends and dump them in a sink full of water. Lay on a towel to dry and then spread them out on two cookie trays and put them in the freezer.  Once frozen put them in a ziplock bag.  Easy!

Preserving the Fiddleheads

The second of the three veggies that need preserving right now are fiddleheads.  I've never preserved fiddleheads, but know they marry well with vinegar, so pickling seems like an ideal way.  I also froze some in a ziplock bag.  I imagine I'll use the frozen ones in stir fry or in a fetticini alfredo.  I'm not going to lie to ya ..... these take a while to prepare.  I dumped them all in the sink full of water and then had to cut a little bit from the end of each fiddlehead.  Bet it'll be worth it!

Pickled Fiddleheads

• 4 LBS fiddleheads (Ont)
• 6 green onions (Ont)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 TBS pickling salt
• 4 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups water

Prepare the fiddleheads in clean water and trim the ends.  Bake three 1 L jars in the oven at 500 degrees for twenty minutes to sterilize, but allow to cool for for twenty minutes before filling the jars with two green onions each and fiddleheads filled to the top.  Place all the other ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil for five minutes and then pour over fiddleheads.  Sterilize the lids in boiling water and process jars on a water bath for 15-20 min.  I made one jar that didn't get processed, as I don't want to wait, so it'll sit in the fridge for a few weeks and then we'll eat it as a side.  Can't wait to try it!