Salsa

Since there's an abundance of tomatoes and peppers out there right now, I thought I would share my salsa recipe. It's a recipe I got from my sister Kathy decades ago and is a staple at our home. I cook up a large batch in fall and we enjoy it year-round.  This is a zippy salsa; if you prefer yours on the mild side, remove all the seeds and ribs from inside the jalapeno peppers.
 

Salsa

• 10 cups tomatoes (peeled, chopped and drained)
• 8 small jalapeno peppers chopped (remove seeds for less heat) 
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped green peppers 
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 1/3 cups vinegar 
• 1 can 12 oz. can tomato paste 
• 1 tsp. cumin 
• 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes 
• 3 Tablespoons pickling salt 
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1. Combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
2. Ladle into jars; tighten lids and process for 20 minutes in hot water bath.

*Optional : Stir in 1/3 cup cornstarch diluted in cold water and simmer for several minutes to thicken salsa before filling jars.

Yield: about 6-7 pint (500 ml) jars

This also makes a wonderful, tasty fresh salsa.  Place chopped veggies in a large bowl.  Mix vinegar, tomato paste, herbs and seasonings and add to chopped vegetables. Stir to combine.  Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week.

Queen Elizabeth Cake

Queen Elizabeth II

Our Gracious Queen

 April 1926 – September 2022

A recipe that Anneliese posted in 2016 in honor of her Majesty's 90th birthday.  We are reposting it today in honor of the Queen.  Rest in peace.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dates, chopped fine and 1 cup water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter, soft
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt

topping

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp cream
• 5 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut or mix of coconut and thin slivered almonds

Method:

1. In saucepan, bring dates and water to boil and continue simmering for about 3- 5 minutes until soft. Turn off heat and add baking soda, stirring to mash well. (it will bubble) Add vanilla, Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare 8 - 9 inch round or square pan by greasing and lining with wax or parchment paper. A spring form pan is ideal but not necessary.
3. Cream butter, sugar and egg.
4. Add dates and then stir in the dry ingredients, mixing on low if using mixer. 
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick test comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile melt and warm butter and cream, adding sugar, coconut and nuts. Stir until well blended and set aside.
7. When cake is done, gently spread with topping and return to oven to broil setting for about 2 minutes. Watch it so it does not burn. It should bubble and turn a nice golden color.
8. Let cool. Loosen edges with knife. If not using a spring-form pan, remove by placing a piece of wax paper over the top along with a flat plate. Flip upside down and then right side up again onto serving plate. 

Thank you for your years of service Queen Elizabeth.

Peach Almond Scones

We are so enjoying the local peaches at this time of the year.  By local, I don't mean that they are grown in my neighbourhood but that they are British Columbia peaches.  Peaches are grown in the southern areas of the Okanagan, Similkameen, and Kootenay valleys, by about 800 peach growers.  BC produces 7 million kilograms of peaches...about 20% of the Canadian production, mostly sold as fresh produce.  I'll be sad when the peach season ends.

Here's a recipe for fresh peach scones you might also enjoy!

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cups sliced almonds, slightly toasted, divided
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup diced peaches

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cut in the butter, using a pastry blender...or grate with a coarse grater and combine with fingertips. 
4. Stir in 1/4 cup of toasted almonds. 
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and the almond extract. 
6. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. 
7. Add the peaches and stir just until well-combined. (This is a somewhat wet and sticky dough, perfect for drop scones.)
8. Drop by large spoonfuls (ice-cream scoop) onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
9. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.
10. Bake until golden...15 to 18 minutes.
11. While still warm, drizzle with glaze.

 Yield: 1 dozen large scones.

This is just one more way to enjoy our local peaches!

Raspberry Freezer Syrup

With raspberry season here in the raspberry capital of Canada, I thought I'd share this all-year fresh tasting raspberry syrup.

In our family it is a must addition to waffles with vanilla custard. Just a drizzle also adds so much to a slice of Napoleon Torte, vanilla jelly roll, cheese cake, plain yogurt or a smoothie.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 flat raspberries (5 lbs)
• 8- 10 cups sugar

Method:

1. Puree cleaned berries in blender until just blended
2. Measure out berries into a large bowl.
3. For each cup of berries add 1 cup of sugar. I do a little less ( 8 cups sugar for 10 cups berries). Do not lessen the sugar more as it is what makes the syrupy texture and acts as the only preservative in this mixture.
4. Let sit at room temperature for about half a day, stirring every half hour or so. Ladle into clean jars and freeze. No need to seal, kept in freezer.  Makes about 12 cups. One cup is enough for a larger family serving on waffles. You can re-freeze or keep it in the fridge for about a week. 

I like to collect a few odd shaped jars to fill and give away  as a gift. In this case, I bring the liquid just to boiling, ladle it into a sterilized hot jars and seal with the original rubber lined lid, also sterilized.  Even in this case, I still advise to keep refrigerated or freeze. It does not take long to thaw and keeps it tasting like the berries were just picked.

Macarons with Rhubarb Strawberry Filling

First of all, I would not attempt to make macarons without a kitchen scale. A kitchen scale is not expensive and I also use it weighing Paska loaves to French Bread loaves for even baking.

You will just need to zero out your scale after you put a small bowl on it and then you can pour in your almond flour until you have 100 grams and then use another small bowl, zero out the weight and weigh out your powdered/icing sugar.  

I do not weigh my eggs.  I use eggs fresh from our farm and haven't found that I need to age them ahead of time.

You can use any filling you prefer, I love using heavy cream that has been whipped and very slightly sweetened. I use a whipping cream stabilizer so that the cream stays firm.  You can use a bit of instant pudding to have the same result.  

I make my recipe small so that I am only baking one pan.  That way, if I want to make different colours, I am not trying to divide the batch up to add food colouring.  

You can use a macaron pan but I use a heavy cookie sheet with no sides.  I used a sharpie pen to draw 42 little circles onto the pan. I put a sheet of parchment paper over top and then pipe my macaron batter evenly using the template I can see through the parchment.  After you have made macarons for a while, the size will become second nature but at first, it is helpful to follow a shape to make them even in size.

The last piece of advice I have is that if at first, you don't succeed, try it again.  Mine didn't turn out the first time and I've had some less than photo-worthy macarons through the years but I enjoyed the challenge of making macarons that are as beautiful as they are delicious. 

• 100 grams almond flour (ground almonds)  about 1 cup
• 100 grams icing/powdered sugar
• 2 medium egg whites
• 2 grinds sea salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• a drop or two of liquid food colouring of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 3oo F (not convection)
2. Run the almond flour and icing sugar through a sieve into a large bowl. Stir it together to make sure it is well blended.  Discard any bits of almond that didn't fall through the sieve.  Estimate the amount you have discarded and add that amount of ground almonds into the sieve to make up for the amount you are discarding. 
3. In another very clean glass bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the two egg whites until foamy.  Add the food colouring. Slowly begin to add the granulated sugar and continue to beat until the egg whites are thick and glossy.  Whipped egg whites should not move when the bowl is tipped. 
4. Transfer the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the whites into the almond mixture.  Fold the two together just until the batter falls from the spatula in a wide ribbon.  
5. Spoon the batter into a piping bag that has a 1/4 inch circle opening. 
6. After you have piped out all your macarons (this recipe will make 42 circles) give the pan a few good taps on the counter to help settle the batter and to release any air bubbles under the surface.
7. Let the macarons sit until they are no longer tacky and feel dry to the touch. This could take about 30 minutes.  If the macarons have a little tip on them, gently press it down.  
8. Bake the macarons 8 minutes, open the oven to release the steam, shut the oven again and bake another 8 minutes or until the macarons feel firm.  
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before trying to move them or trying to fill them. 
10. Fill with your favourite buttercream or the filling below

Rhubarb Compote with Strawberry Cream  Filling

• 2 cups  chopped red rhubarb
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon minute tapioca

1. Combine rhubarb, sugar and tapioca and allow to sit 15 minutes.
2. Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake in the oven until the rhubarb has become tender and the tapioca has thickened the sauce. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Strawberry Cream

• 1 tablespoon strawberry gelatin/jello
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package Dr Oetkers Whip Cream stabilizer or 1 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding

1. Dissolve gelatin and boiling water in a custard cup (or similar sized bowl). Stir until all the gelatin has dissolved.  Allow gelatin to cool to room temperature before adding to the whipping cream.
2. Beat heavy cream and sugar and stabilizer/instant pudding in a medium bowl.  As the cream starts to thicken, add the room temperature gelatin and beat until the cream has thickened.
3. Put the Strawberry Cream into a piping bag with a star tip.

To Assemble

1. Match the macarons into teams of two. Keep the best macarons for the top)
2. Put a dab of Rhubarb Compote in the middle of half of the macarons and pipe the strawberry cream over top.
3. Put the matching macaron top over the filling and gently press together.  Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze.  They freeze beautifully.  

Macarons filled with buttercream (icing sugar and butter) will keep well in the refrigerator for several days.  

Pfeffernuesse (Peppernuts)

Christmas is around the corner and it's time to be thinking of making Pfeffernuese. This is a great recipe to make with a friend.  It takes half the time and is twice the fun.

There's a bit of history to these tiny spiced cookies.

 I remember being told that Mennonite grandmothers used to keep a few peppernuts in their purses during church services. When the children would become a bit noisy or restless, they would pop one of these hard nuggets into their mouths and the necessity of sucking the hard cookie and the surprising spiciness would distract the child and silence was achieved.

There are many recipes for Peffernuesse but this is my favourite.  I make them at the beginning of November so they have time to ripen.

They are always number one on the list of Christmas favourites at our house and are a bit addictive.

It's a big recipe and I have often only made half of it.  However if you make the whole recipe, you can pack the Pfeffernuesse in pretty Christmas tins to give as gifts.

Here is the recipe I use - it is easily halved if the whole amount is intimidating.
Be sure to read the recipe through before starting.

• 4 cups Roger's Golden syrup (this is different than corn syrup)
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups margarine or butter
• 2 cups milk

1. Combine the above ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Let mixture cool completely before continuing.

• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tsp. peppermint extract (use the clear extract not the green tinted one)

1. Beat eggs in a small bowl and add extracts. Set aside.

• 12- 14 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground star anise (not anise seed)
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place 7 cups flour in a large mixer bowl.
2. Add spices and baking powder and stir until completely blended with flour.
3. Add syrup mixture to the flour, stirring well until blended.
4. Add beaten egg mixture and continue to stir until blended.
5. Continue to add flour until dough thickens but remains sticky. You will still be able to stir it with a wooden spoon however it will take a bit of strength.The amount of flour may vary depending on your flour and the amount of humidity. Please note that the dough will harden considerably once it has been refrigerated so be careful not to add too much flour.
6. Refrigerate dough overnight or for several days.
7. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. These cookies will stick to the pan however if you use parchment paper, they will just slide right off and you can reuse the paper.
8. Using a tablespoon (from your cutlery drawer), spoon out a good handful of the dough.
9. Sprinkle a little flour on your counter and roll the dough into a long rope about the thickness of your ring finger.
10. Using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces and place on your prepared pans. (I get 99 cookies on each large cookie sheet)
11. Bake at 350º F  for about 15 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown. This is where having a convection oven comes in handy as you can bake 2 or 3 cookie sheets at a time.
12. Remove from pan and cool. Store in ice cream pails in a cool place.
13. The Pfeffernuesse will keep for a long time - at least 6 months - but only if you hide them..

Carrot Potato Bake

In this dish, carrots and potatoes are married together in perfect harmony under a crunchy crust.

Perfect served with Mushroom Stuffed Meatloaf or Salisbury Steak. 

• 6-8 potatoes 
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 - 2 teaspoons salt
• dash pepper
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine
• 1 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. Seasoned salt 
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1.      Heat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  
2.      Peel and shred into cold water, enough potatoes to make 6 cups. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel.
3.      In large bowl, combine potatoes, carrots, onions, cream, salt and pepper.  
4.      Spoon into prepared dish.  
5.      Melt butter; stir in bread crumbs, seasoned salt and parsley. 
6.      Sprinkle over potato mixture.  
7.      Bake at 350° F for 50-60 minutes or until vegetables are tender

Beef Stir Fry

Stir Fry is a good dish to make when you have things in your fridge like a half a pepper, a few mushrooms and the end of a zucchini .

When we buy a whole beef tenderloin to cut into steaks, I save the narrow ends for this stir fry.

This recipe can also be used for a pork stir fry.

For the Marinade:

• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Spice

Stir fry ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided 
• sliced mushrooms
• sliced onions
• red or yellow pepper strips
• zucchini, cut into strips (discard the soft centre)

Sauce ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• reserved marinade
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1-2 tablespoons cold orange juice

Method:

1. Marinate meat for at least an hour - not more than 3 hours
2. Drain meat, reserving the marinade, and saute' in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil just until meat is browned.
3. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
5. Add onions and mushrooms and peppers and stir fry until vegetables are almost tender.
6. Add zucchini strips and meat.
7. Add Hoisin sauce, balsamic vinegar and orange juice and as much of the marinade as needed to make the amount of sauce you prefer.
8. Cover and let cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
9. Mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch with a little more cold orange juice and stir into the sauce in the pan. Cook until sauce thickens. If needed, you can add more cornstarch and juice to thicken it to your liking.
10. Serve immediately over rice or thin noodles.

Tapioca Dream Pudding

Tapioca pudding takes me back to eighth grade Home Ec, one of the first things we learned to cook. More recently, my sister mentioned making it for friends for whom it is a favorite dessert. I just had to go back to it. The lightness in this recipe comes from beating the egg white separately and adding it at the end.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 4 tablespoons sugar, separated
• pinch salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons Minit Tapioca
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla 

Method:

1. In a 4 cup glass bowl, beat egg white, adding in 1 tablespoon sugar as it gets foamy.
2. Beat until stiff peaks form.
3. In saucepan, whisk egg yolk and 3 tablespoon sugar. Add salt and gradually stir in milk and then tapioca. Let sit 5 minutes.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat.
5. Immediately, with hand mixer on low speed, slowly add hot tapioca mixture into beaten egg white OR fold beaten egg whites into hot tapioca pudding with spatula. Add vanilla. 
6. Stir after 20 minutes and scoop into dessert bowls. Serve warm or chilled, plain or with fruit. Yields 3 - 4 small servings

Note- naturally gluten free

Pfeffernuesse

Every year I am asked about this recipe, so this year, my sister called and said,
"I want to learn how to make Pfeffernusse." So we penciled in a calendar date and had a fun time in her kitchen making all sorts of recipes that we love, and learned how, too many fingers in the dough, can spoil everything.
Remember before you bake these cookies, you need to make sure your cupboard is stocked with those special spices from the deli. Find out, how disastrous it can be with two sisters in the same kitchen.

Pfeffernusse

Step One:

• 1 1/2 C honey
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons /15 grams Neunerlei Lebkuchen Gewurz (this is a gingerbread spice purchased at Delicatessen)

1. Warm honey in microwave and add sugar and spices.
2. Cool mixture to room temperature.

Step Two:

• 1 cup margarine
• 1/3 cup sour cream

1. Melt margarine and add sour cream.
2. Now add to honey mixture.

Step Three:

• 6 cups cups flour(you may need to add 1/2 cup more as it needs to be thick)
• 3 teaspoons baking soda

1. Blend flour and soda into mixing bowl.
2. Sift together flour and baking soda and add the honey mixture and mix well.
3. I usually use my kneading hook, as this dough is heavy. One time I broke my cookie beaters.

1. Place in fridge overnight to cool. 
2. To bake, grease cookie sheets
3. Roll dough into rolls (snakes) and slice.(thickness of your index finger)
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake for 9 minutes. Just slightly browned.
5. When baked, leave cookies on sheet 2 minutes, then remove from pan.

Sometimes I leave the dough in the fridge for days and let the young ones make snakes together with me. It takes time rolling them out, but its fun if you do it with someone else and make an activity out of it. This yields about one ice-cream pail.
I actually bake a few pans every Advent Sunday, and that way they are fresh.

The best way to eat these are to dip them in a fresh cup of coffee.