Fresh Tomato and Mozza Salad

The first time I had an Italian Caprese Salad, I wanted to make it at home.
At that time I was unfamiliar with the fresh mozzarella used in the original
so I came up with this version.

It's quick to make and is a popular salad at our house especially with

summer's fresh lettuce, tomatoes and basil.

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 - 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (use 1/4 cup fresh if you have it - chopped fine)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Salad:

• green leaf lettuce
• a handful of fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 1 or 2 fresh vine ripened tomatoes (Romas are also nice)
• coarsely grated good quality mozzarella
• Chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Mix dressing ingredients together, blending well. Set aside.
2. Tear washed and dried lettuce into bite sized pieces and arrange on a large platter.
3. Slice tomatoes, pat dry and arrange in a circular pattern over the lettuce.
4. Cut basil leaves into a chiffonade (thin slices) and sprinkle over tomatoes. (you can leave this step out if you can't get any fresh basil)
5. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
6. Sprinkle with chopped chives.
7. Pour dressing over salad and serve.

Rollkuchen

 
Rollkuchen are a tasty, deep fried pastry that are a wonderful accompaniment to cold watermelon on a hot summer day.  How well I recall childhood picnics with big tubs of fresh Rollkuchen.  Let's just say that eating them is rather like eating peanuts...you can't stop at just one! Sometime over the years, Rollkuchen became paired with Roger's Golden Syrup (definitely a Canadian thing) on my table; they make a great team!

My mother-in-law made the best flaky, crispy Rollkuchen. Mine never quite measured up, so I have always made the thicker, softer variety and they have become a family favorite. Hers were all uniform in shape; mine are rather 'free-form'. Each recipe seems to differ slightly but I've never met a Rollkuchen I didn't like!

Rollkuchen

• 5 - 6 cups / 1150 - 1350 ml flour
• 3 teaspoons / 15 ml  baking powder
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup / 250 ml sour cream
• 1 cup / 250 ml milk

 

1. Combine 5 cups / 1150 ml  flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Beat eggs, sour cream and milk together and add to dry ingredients
3. Continue to add flour to form a soft dough ... usually about 1/2 cup more.
4. Allow the dough to chill for an hour or two before rolling, for easier handling.
5. Divide the dough in half and roll out quite thin on a floured board ... if you prefer them soft, then not quite so thin.
6. Cut strips of dough about 2x4 inches / 5x10 cm ... with two slits cut in center of each.
7. Stretch the pieces somewhat before dropping into the hot oil.
8. Fry in deep hot oil over medium heat until golden on one side. Turn and brown the other side.
    

The rollkuchen puff up beautifully while cooking and are really mostly air pockets by the time they are ready to eat. A totally a healthy choice!  Who am I fooling?

Serve with cold watermelon and Roger's golden syrup.  Grilled farmer sausage is also a nice touch!

Dill Pickles

Homemade dill pickles just like the ones my mother used to make are on my 'to do' list every summer. There's just something about homemade dills that can't be found on the store shelf! This is my mom's recipe...the same pickles I grew up with.


Ingredients:

• 10 pounds of pickling cukes (yield about 8 jars)
• 5 cups white vinegar used for pickling
• 13 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pickling salt…coarse
• garlic pieces (peeled and cut in half)…two pieces per jar
• fresh dill
• small dried red chili peppers…one or two pieces for each jar

Method:

1. Wash cucumbers well and leave in tub of cold water while packing jars.
2. Mix vinegar, water, sugar and the salt in a large pot. Stir the mixture well. Heat to a rapid boil on medium-high, then keep simmering while filling jars.
3. Prepare wide-mouth 1-quart jars. In each jar, put 1 piece of garlic, one head of dill, two small chili peppers and then enough cucumbers to fill the jar. Then add one more garlic piece and another sprig of dill.
4. Fill jars slowly with the hot brine and seal (being sure to clean all residue from the top of the rim of the jar first).
5. Place the lidded jars in boiling water bath for about 15 minutes…water in canner should cover the tops of the jars.
6. The pickles should be stored in a cool place for two months before serving. (So they say...I’m not sure we ever waited that long!)
   
   *If your water is hard, high in mineral content or has chlorine added, use bottled water.
   ** Pack the cukes into the jars really tight. They shrink as they are processed.

If you like a little zip to your pickles...be generous with the red chili peppers!

Enjoy!

Two Bite Brownies

These irresistible fudgy little bites come inspired by Martha Stewart's Chewy (pan) brownies.  I made a few adjustments to make the recipe fit 36 mini muffins and they turned out to be the perfect tiny treat to add to a lunch kit or gift box.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons oil (in 1/8 cup measure *)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and generously grease 36-count mini cupcake/muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper cups. (parchment paper does not stick to the brownie and can be removed as soon as brownies are cooled off)
2. In top of double boiler, (or heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water) melt butter with chocolate chips and oil. 
3. In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Once chocolate is melted, remove from heat. Stir in both sugars, stirring vigorously (use wooden spoon or whisk) until well blended. 
5. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well for about a minute, after each addition.
6. Stir in vanilla and then the flour mix.
7. Using unwashed *1/8 cup measure that was used to measure the oil, scoop a measure full of batter into each prepared muffin holder. 
8. Bake for 18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out moist with no dough. Do not over bake.
9. Cool in pans on wire rack. Twist to rotate cooled brownie bites before removing or flipping pans. These can be kept in a sealed container for several days (room or fridge) or frozen.

If you want to make them in a pan, use a 9-inch square pan. Bake 35 - 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out moist with no dough. Cut into 25 - 36 pieces. 

Canada Day Strawberry Filled Doughnuts

Happy Canada Day!

All over Canada families and friends will be gathering to celebrate Canada's birthday.

If you live in Canada you already know that a Canadian favorite place to meet for coffee is the local doughnut shop.  

We stopped in ourselves for coffee and picked up some Tim Horton  Honey Crullers  for our Canada Day dessert.

 As far as I can tell, a glazed honey cruller is basically deep fried cream puff dough.

I thought it might make a great way to make cream puffs without heating up the oven on a hot day and a great way to make a quick dessert.

 I used an electric knife to slice them in half.

If you don't have an electric knife, use a sharp serrated knife.

I then gently removed the soft part inside which is much like we do with cream puffs.
I then filled them and served them "open faced".
Six doughnuts makes enough for 12 servings.

For smaller appetites,

I used some of the little honey cruller tim bits and stuffed them with whipped cream and strawberries.

• Tim Horton Honey Cruller doughnuts and doughnut holes
• fresh berries
• 2 cups whipping cream (for one dozen doughnuts and 20 timbits
• 2 packages Dr. Oetker Whip It cream stabilizer or 2 tablespoons vanilla instant pudding
• 1/4 cup powdered / icing sugar

1. Slice doughnuts in half using a electric knife or serrated knife.
2. Remove the soft part of in the inside of the doughnut.
3. Wash and dry strawberries and slice and dice into small pieces.
4. Whip cream with stabilizer or instant pudding and powdered sugar until stiff.
5. Place whipped cream into a piping bag with a star tip, fill the doughnut and top with strawberry pieces and then garnish with a few more stars of whipped cream.
6. Refrigerate until serving time.  These filled doughnuts are best when doughnuts are purchased and and put together on the same day.

Donuts

I started a tradition that wasn't really meant to be a tradition, but when you are Mennonite and do something once that went over well and everyone liked it HAS to become tradition......."awe come on mom, we did it last year". So hence a new tradition had begun. Each child is allowed to invite their friends, cousins, second, third cousins, whom ever they wish. The first year that we did it my sister in-love and I didn't know how many the recipe would make so to be on the safe side the Mennonite in us came out and quadrupled the recipe. After all we wanted to make sure there was plenty. CAUTION..........unless you want to feed the masses of 500 or more DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT quadruple the recipe. We made hundreds, fried for hours, we were covered in a thin layer of grease ourselves. We invited another family, then more families, then people from church, neighbours. They ALL got eaten. Donuts need to be eaten fresh. Set an afternoon aside, set up a Coleman stove outside so your house doesn't smell like a deep fryer, invite the people you love and just enjoy. I must say that fun was had by all. Oh by the way I only doubled the recipe this time, I am sure the teenagers ate a dozen each. The boys for sure did. It made about 200.

Raised Donuts or (Donuts originally from the Mennonite Treasury Cookbook)

• 1 tablespoon quick rise yeast
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups scalded milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening ( I used oil)
• About 6 cups flour

1. Add dry yeast to 3 cups flour, salt and sugar. 
2. Scald milk, add 1 cup water, oil and beaten eggs. 
3. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes. 
4. Let rise approximately 1/2 hour. 
5. Roll into 1/4-1/2" thick and cut into desired shape with either a donut cutter or cookie cutter.
6. Deep fry until golden brown. 
7. Careful that the oil doesn't get too hot, usually cooking on medium heat to medium high is enough. 
8. Glaze while warm in following glaze.

Glaze:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 milk

Bring to boil, take off heat and add

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Whisk ingredients together, keep on a low element.
2. Dip the warm donuts into the glaze and place on parchment lined cookie sheets to dry.
3. Enjoy.

Light & Runny Strawberry Jam

When I first started making jam many years ago, I was confused with the many suggested ways to cook (or not cook) jam. Mom would say to cook until done, some advised not to use pectin, others used for too much sugar . . . you get the idea.
Being a bit of a perfectionist, I couldn’t just wing it and have the jam turn out a little different every year. I wanted it to be exactly right … not too sweet, not too hard, not too runny. . . so I've worked on it over the years and got it to where our family likes it, runny enough to use a spoon to spread a scone or fill that little hole on a Zwieback for Sunday Faspa.

Tools/Accessories:

• blender or immersion blender
• good quality, large stainless steel pot
• wooden spoon
• canning funnel
• clean jars and new lids

Suggested amounts of ingredients needed for 24 - 30 cups of jam (12 - 15 pints):

• 1 - 15 pound flat of strawberries
• 4 kg sugar (10 pounds)
• 3 packages Certo light brand pectin OR 4 packages (other) regular pectin crystals
• 4 teaspoons soft margarine

Ahead of time:  Wash jars and rings. While  jam is cooking, sterilize jars by heating in a 225° F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until needed. Bring rubber lids, covered in water, to boil in a small pot.
Turn off heat but keep lid on to keep them hot.

Berry Prep: Wash berries before stemming. Crush about 3 cups of berries at a time. With a good blender, pulse for 5 seconds, stopping in between to shake fruit to the bottom so as not to over-blend.
OR  fill an ice cream pail - a third full - and use an immersion blender to crush. If berries are very ripe you can use a potato masher. Pureed berries should still be of a thick and slightly chunky consistency. Collect crushed berries in a large bowl or ice cream pails until done. I usually do this in the evening and refrigerate the berries to cook the next day.  (15 lbs of berries will make 4 batches - or about 30 cups jam)

Measure and set aside separately:

• 6 cups mashed berries 
• 4 1/4 cups sugar, separated
• 3 tablespoons Certo light (or 1 package regular pectin crystals) mixed with ¼ cup sugar

To cook:

1. Place fruit and pectin crystals mixed with 1/4 c sugar into a large pot. (Pot should only be about 1/3 full.) 
2. Place over high heat on an element that keeps the most consistent heat,  using a wooden spoon, stir almost constantly, until it comes to a bubbling boil.
3. Stir in remaining 4 cups sugar. Continuing to stir, add 1 teaspoon margarine to keep the foam down and cook until mixture comes to a full, rolling boil again. (you can hear it) Set timer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn heat down slightly if it splatters too much, but keep the boil. 
4. Remove from heat and continue to stir for a minute or two until clear and shiny. Ladle hot jam into jars (using funnel) to 1/2 inch from rim. Cover with lids and screw rings until just barely tight. Cool completely at room temperature. (24 hours)

Tips:
* The jam will be a pourable thick liquid while hot, but just barely move when you tilt the cooled jar. of jam.  If you find it too runny ( different stoves, pots, pectin, can all have an influence) you can salvage it by pouring it into a large pot, bring to boil and cook two minutes. Next time use an extra tablespoon of pectin or cook 1 minute longer. 

* Important note: Freezing the jam (once it's cooled) keeps it fresher tasting and it’s not necessary to seal the jars. Even keeping sealed jars refrigerated keeps the flavor fresher tasting than just having it sit in the pantry.

* You can freeze blended berries in 6 cup proportions, ready to cook in the winter, but you will need a bit more Certo. (I freeze in 9 cup proportions, add 6 cups sugar and 1 package pectin with thawed mixture. This makes about 12 half pint jars) To cook this proportion it is best to use an extra large pot.

Mango Cucumber Salad with Mango Citrus Vinaigrette

The mangoes have been exceptionally sweet and juicy lately, and we have enjoyed this salad many times.  The dressing is not only great on salads but is also fantastic drizzled on grilled salmon or chicken. 

Salad:

• 4 cups mixed salad greens 
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 or 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 1/3 cup cashew pieces or sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 

1. In a salad bowl, combine greens, mango slices, red onion, cucumber and cashews or almonds.
2. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss it all together.
3. Serve.

*If plating the salads individually, place a few of the mango slices on top.

Serves 4.

Mango Citrus Vinaigrette:

•  1 ripe mango
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Peel one mango, and remove pit. 
2. Chop and  place in blender with remaining ingredients; puree until smooth. 
3. Store in a small jar in refrigerator (for up to a week) and shake to blend before use.

Variation:
Line salad bowl or platter with mixed greens. Top with fresh fruits and berries of your choice, including cubed mango. Serve with mango citrus vinaigrette and candied walnuts or pecans as optional topping.

 

Hamburger Patties for the BBQ

During the summer I like to have things ready that I can throw onto the BBQ without too much fuss. You can never go wrong with hamburgers. I double the recipe, form patties and stack them with parchment between, which makes it easy to take out take as many as you need.

While the patties are on the BBQ set out the condiments, slice up tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, pickles and buns. Open your family's favorite bag of chips or serve with fresh corn on the cob or watermelon.

Ingredients: (yields 8-10 patties)

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/3 cup grated onion
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumb

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and using your hands mix together well.
2. Cut squares of parchment paper.
3. Form patties by taking an apple sized piece of meat, roll it into a ball and flatten it.
4. Continue until all the meat is used. You can BBQ now or go to next step.
5. Place stacks of patties in a zip lock freezer bag, seal and freeze.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

This cake is so simple and easy to put together. A delicious cake to serve for Mother's Day or for a birthday. Doesn't it look elegant and delicious?
You can simplify this even more by using a cake mix but if you must use your favorite chocolate cake recipe, just make sure you have 2 round 8 inch pans of cake.
It is our daughter's birthday today. Happy Birthday Alison!

• 1 box chocolate cake mix, baked in two 8 " round pans
• 1  250 gram / 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam
• Extra icing sugar for dusting
• 1- 2 cups fresh raspberries (more or less, exact amount not necessary)
• Mint leaves, optional but they do add a pretty look

1. Bake cake as directed on cake mix box. Allow to cool.
2. Split each cake in half horizontally.
3. Mix together cream cheese, icing sugar, and raspberry jam until well blended and creamy.
4. Divide mixture into 3 equal amounts.
5. Place one layer of cake on bottom of plate and spread 1/3 of cream cheese mixture over top. Repeat layering and finish off with a cake layer.
6. Dust with icing sugar and pile on raspberries. Garnish with mint leaves.
7. Yield: 16 servings