Monthly Archives: January 2014

General

My Island Bistro Kitchen Food Blog Featured in “Eat In Eat Out” Magazine

I am thrilled to be one of the featured food bloggers in the Winter 2014 issue of “Eat In Eat Out” magazine.  You can read the blog profile and get my recipe for Lobster Cakes through the following link and by going to pages 58-59:   http://ow.ly/sLfua .   You can also click on the “Eat In Eat Out” badge on the right-hand side of this page which will take you to the online magazine. 

 

General

My Island Bistro Kitchen Celebrates 2nd Anniversary!

Today marks my second anniversary of food blogging!  To celebrate, let’s have cupcakes and tea!

Cupcakes
Cupcakes

I can’t believe that two years has flown by so fast!  Lots of interviews, stories, and recipes have found their way on to my blog over the past two years.

Since the core focus of my food blog is on local products, I don’t often post photographs of my cake and cupcake decorating activities.  However, since this is an anniversary, I thought some decorated cupcakes would be suitable.

Of course, I chose some beautiful rose-colored tulips from Vanco Farms in Mount Albion to mark the occasion.  Aren’t they stunning!  Grown in hothouses right here on PEI.

Cupcakes lend themselves to so many options in decorating.  These miniature cakes can be dressed in cupcake wrappers as I have done with these.

I handmade each of the flowers and leaves appearing on the cupcakes.  While I most often work with fondant, these flowers are made with royal icing.

After all the holiday reds and greens from the Christmas season, I must admit it was kind of nice to see a color pallette change with the pinks and rose shades.

Part of my pink collection of teacups blended right in.

I love china teacups and saucers and like to find opportunities to use them.

I think it’s true.  If you choose items in your favorite color(s), you will find everything will blend together.

Who can resist these delicate cupcakes decorated with apple blossoms, lilies, and butterflies!  Makes you think spring really will come, doesn’t it!

Even though they are pretty and decorative, they were made for eating!

I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into the anniversary party celebrating my second year of blogging.

I do want to thank those who were willing to be part of my food blog by being interviewed about their product(s) and allowing me to tell their story.  PEI is Canada’s smallest province but we have fine food and beverage producers on this Island who are doing remarkable things with food and beverages.  Thank you also to those who have taken the time to visit my blog and read the stories and recipes I have shared.  I hope it has given you a glimpse into the food scene on PEI.

I have a great line-up of stories planned for 2014.  I hope you will come back to my blog and visit me often.

I will be joining Tea Time Tuesday’s 4th Anniversary Party at Rose Chintz Cottage on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.

I have an active presence on Facebook and you can find me there at My Island Bistro Kitchen.  You may also wish to follow me on twitter @PEIBistro, on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”, and on Instagram at “PEIBistro”.

Breads, Rolls, and Biscuits, General

Homemade White Bread

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I love making bread from scratch.  I like working and kneading the dough, the smell of the dough as it rises, and especially as it bakes.  No commercial potpourri could ever duplicate the wonderful scent of homemade bread baking in the oven!  It just permeates the whole house and whets the appetite.  We do have an electric bread machine in the family but it’s not the same.  I find bread made in the machine is not too bad on the day it is made but, after that, I don’t care for it so much, finding it to be somewhat tough.  My preference is to make bread the old-fashioned, traditional way. Today, I am sharing my recipe and technique for making homemade white bread. Continue reading Homemade White Bread →

Desserts, General, Recipes

Blueberry Grunt

Blueberry Grunt

Do you ever have a craving for comfort foods?  You know, the foods that are basic, nostalgic, or that you have a sentimental attachment to and that take you down memory lane.  Some might even refer to these dishes as vintage.  Maybe your mom made them for you when you were a child or you remember them from visits to grandma’s house.  I’m talking about foods like macaroni and cheese, baked beans, scalloped potatoes, apple pie or crisp, homemade stews and “boiled dinners“, and baked bread.  Cottage pie, rice pudding, roast chicken dinners, meatloaf with mashed potatoes, and fruit cobblers are other comfort foods commonly enjoyed in North American culture.  There are many other dishes that bring us comfort, especially in the cold Canadian winters, so this list is not exhaustive and what constitutes comfort food may vary between cultures and regions of Canada.

These foods, in their traditional content, are by no means gourmet fare nor are they necessarily devoid of calories.  They’re typically plain and simple stick-to-the-ribs kind of fare and they generate feelings of contentment and satisfaction …  you feel warm and cozy when eating the meal.  These kinds of dishes take basic, easy-to-find ingredients and are not usually difficult or complicated to make.  They’re the kinds of foods that, when you walk into a home where they are being prepared, your appetite is immediately whetted and you harken back to early memories of enjoying those foods.  They are hearty classics and endure over time, generation after generation.  Yes, even the old tuna casserole is still considered a comfort food by many!

Today, I am sharing my recipe for Blueberry Grunt.  I don’t know the origin of this dessert or how it got its name but it’s really just a baked fruit dessert – a slightly thickened fruit sauce on the bottom topped by a biscuit-like dumpling.  This dessert is often made on the stove top where the dumplings are put in the pot on top of the bubbling blueberry sauce, covered and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  However, my recipe calls for the dessert to be baked in the oven.

Baked Blueberry Grunt

 

My featured Island product in this recipe are the blueberries.  Each summer, I pack away several bags of these sweet little Island-grown morsels for use in my favorite recipes like this one for Blueberry Grunt.

[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]

Blueberry Grunt

Ingredients:
4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamon

Topping:
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp white sugar
1 cup milk
2 1/2 tbsp cold butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugars, cornstarch, and spices.  Stir in the grated lemon rind.  Set aside.

In saucepan, combine blueberries and the sugar mixture.  Add the lemon juice and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.  Add enough milk to make a soft dough mixture that will cling together.

Grease a 1 1/2 or 2-quart baking dish or 8 individual ramekins.  Spoon the blueberry mixture into baking dish(es).

 

Divide the dumpling dough into 8 portions.

Place dumplings over blueberry mixture (close together if baking in one casserole or centered if using individual dishes).

Bake in 400F oven for about 20-25 minutes or until dumplings are done and lightly golden brown on top.

Serve hot or warm with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (or both!).

Serves:  8

What are your favorite comfort foods?

Blueberry Grunt
Print

Blueberry Grunt

An easy to prepare comfort dessert, Blueberry Grunt consists basically of blueberries baked in a flavorful sauce under tea biscuit dumplings. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and/or whipping cream.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword blueberries, blueberry grunt
Servings 8
My Island Bistro Kitchen My Island Bistro Kitchen

Ingredients

Blueberry Base:

  • 4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom

Topping:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 1/2 tbsp cold butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugars, cornstarch, and spices. Stir in the grated lemon rind. Set aside.
  3. In saucepan, combine blueberries and the sugar mixture. Add the lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
  4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Add enough milk to make a soft dough mixture that will cling together.
  5. Grease a 1 1/2 or 2-quart baking dish or 8 individual ramekins. Spoon the blueberry mixture into baking dish(es).
  6. Divide the dumpling dough into 8 portions.
  7. Place dumplings over blueberry mixture (close together if baking in one casserole or centered if using individual dishes).
  8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until dumplings are done and lightly golden brown on top.
  9. Serve hot with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (or both!).

Recipe Notes

Yield: 8 servings

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You may also enjoy these other blueberry dessert recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen:

Blueberry Buckle
Blueberry Bread Pudding
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
Peach Blueberry Crisp
Mini Blueberry Bundt Cakes
Orange-scented Blueberry Oat Square 

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Blueberry Grunt
Blueberry Grunt