In October, I traveled to Farmington, near Souris, PEI, to watch the wet harvesting of cranberries at Mikita Farms. One of the recipes I developed with the Mikita Farm cranberries is for Cranberry-Banana Eggnog Muffins. Continue reading Cranberry-Banana Eggnog Muffins
One of my all-time favorite desserts is Baked Alaska. I first had Baked Alaska on a cruise many, many years ago and I have loved it ever since. Many people think Baked Alaska is difficult to make but I don’t find it is. It does, however, take a little planning and time since it is prepared in stages. Baked Alaska can be made as a large dessert to serve several or it can be tailored down to serve one or two. My recipe is for two individual servings, perfect for a special intimate dinner such as Valentine’s Day, or anytime as a nice treat.
There are options for the cake base of a Baked Alaska. Brownies or pound cake are my preferences and they can be either bought or homemade. I like brownies because the dark contrast is eye-appealing with a light-colored ice cream. Whatever base is used, it needs to be cut out with a 2” cookie cutter and it should have a depth of about ½” to ¾ “. Now, at first glance, this might appear to be a rather miniscule dessert but, as you’ll soon discover, the meringue adds a lot of volume to the Baked Alaska.
Choice of ice cream is important for the Baked Alaska. Choose a high quality ice cream with a high percentage cream content for this dessert because it will freeze hard. Some of the lower fat or cheaper ice creams tend to be softer and, because this ice cream is going into a 475° oven, it needs to be able to stand up for itself! Any flavour of ice cream of your choosing will work. My favorites are vanilla, coffee, or strawberry. Let the ice cream soften slightly at room temperature for 5-7 minutes before scooping it out. You want to try and get as perfectly a round scoop as you can because this is what will give the Alaska its dome shape.
It’s important that both the cake base and the scoop of ice cream be frozen super hard so plan ahead to have them frozen for at least two hours or longer before serving time. I use a couple of small pieces of wooden boards covered with tin foil on which to bake the Alaskas because the boards don’t heat as fast as a metal cookie sheet would which could cause the Alaskas to start to melt down too quickly in the oven. The idea is to keep the Baked Alaskas as cold as possible. The Alaskas are only put in the oven for 2-3 minutes solely to tan the meringue.
The Raspberry Coulis can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated.
I find I have greater success with whipping egg whites for the meringue when they are at room temperature. Allow the separated egg whites to come to room temperature for about 30-40 minutes before whipping.
It’s super important to completely cover the ice cream and base with the meringue as, otherwise, heat will reach the ice cream which will simply melt and ooze out of the Alaska when placed in the oven. The meringue acts as an insulator of sorts which prevents the ice cream from melting for the 2-3 minutes it is in the oven. I have found that even the smallest gap in the meringue will cause the ice cream to melt in even the short time it is in the oven. Work as quickly as you can to apply the meringue so that the ice cream does not soften and melt.
1¼ cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
⅓ cup sugar
¾ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp water
In medium-sized saucepan, combine all ingredients.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until raspberries have broken down and released their juices.
Remove from heat and pour mixture into a fine sieve over a bowl.
Press mixture with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard raspberry seeds left in the sieve.
Cover coulis tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled.
Yield: ½ cup
2 pieces of brownie cut into 2” circles and sliced ½“ – ¾” thick.
2 round scoops of ice cream, your favourite flavour
2 large egg whites, room temperature
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp almond flavouring
Line a small rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Using the rimmed baked sheet allows for easy transport to and from the freezer and keeps the Alaska bases from accidentally sliding off. Place the brownie circles on the baking sheet and top each with a scoop of ice cream. Place in freezer for at least 2 hours, until very firm.
At the same time, cover two small boards with tin foil and place in freezer.
When ready to prepare the dessert, place oven rack about 8” from broiler and preheat oven to 475°F.
In bowl of stand mixer, beat egg whites just until frothy then add the salt and cream of tartar.
While beating the egg whites, add the sugar slowly, about a teaspoon at a time.
Continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form when wire whisk is lifted from the egg whites.
Add the almond flavoring and beat for 10-15 seconds longer.
Remove brownie and ice cream rounds along with the foil-covered boards from the freezer. Transfer the brownie and ice cream rounds to the foil-covered boards. Quickly cover the ice cream and brownie completely with the meringue.
With the tip of a knife, twirl the meringue into decorate tips.
Place the Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet for ease of transfer to and from oven. Bake in the pre-heated oven until the meringue browns, about 2-3 minutes.
Remove from oven and plate. Drizzle with Raspberry Coulis and garnish with fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.
Serves: 2
——————
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
Did you ever get the urge to bake (often on a storm day, for example) and realize that every recipe you look at requires a shopping trip to the supermarket? Well, here’s my answer to that dilemma. Today’s recipe is Cinnamon Quick Bread that takes no more than pantry staples. So long as you have basic baking supplies, you can whip this tasty sweet bread up in no time. Continue reading Cinnamon Quick Bread
Today, I’m sharing the recipe for a real old-fashioned vintage dessert. Some of you may remember your mother or grandmother making Raisin Puff (aka Plum Puff) dessert or, perhaps, you have made it yourself. Continue reading Raisin Puff (aka Plum Puff)
I was recently contacted by Laure Solange Tchamdja, President and CEO of Aldanel Authentic Foods, of Charlottetown, PEI, to let me know about her new line of tomato sauces being produced right here on PEI. I sat down for a chat with Tchamdja to find out more about the sauces.
In October, 2013, Tchamdja began producing tomato sauce. The company manufactures five varieties of their tomato-based sauces, all sold in 240ml bottles: Tomato Celebration, Spinach Carnival, Chili Tango, Carrot Symphony, and Rouge Poivron. Over the period of some nine months in the lab, the BioFood Technology plant on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown helped Tchamdja convert her family recipe into a commercial product suitable for the retail market. As the company does not presently have its own manufacturing plant, the sauces are produced at the BioFood Technology plant on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown.
Tchamdja wanted to create a tomato sauce product that is safe and healthy, not too spicy, and that would help working women, young professionals, and students prepare healthy meals at home. She says her products are versatile and multipurpose and one does not have to be a chef to use them. They can be used directly from the bottle as pasta sauces, added to soups and vegetables, used as a condiment for meat and fish, as a sauce for pizza, on nachos, and even as marinades for meat and fish. So, the product can be used as is without having to cook it again or it can be used as an ingredient in a recipe. Tchamdja says her products are all natural with no preservatives and are low in sugar.
Initially, Tchamdja sold her tomato sauces at local PEI shops such as Riverview Country Market. She has since expanded her markets to include Sobey’s and Co-op Supermarkets, Pete’s Frootique in Halifax, and Winners and Home Sense stores in Eastern Canada.
The products are sold under the Aldanel™ label, the letters for which are formed from those found in the names of her children. Depending on the retailer, prices per 240 ml bottle range from $4.49 to $5.99 (as of the time of writing).
Tchamdja offered me some complimentary samples of her Tomato Celebration sauce to try. Tchamdja is correct – I found the sauce to be a versatile ingredient in several dishes. I have used it as a pizza sauce and found it very tasty. I have also used it in a recipe I created for baked stuffed fingerling hors d’oeuvres. And, I have used it as an ingredient in the following recipes for sausage-stuffed cremini mushroom caps.
My recipe for stuffed mushrooms is suitable for hors d’oeuvres or, add a tomato sauce, and they turn into an appetizer.
I have chosen to use cremini mushrooms but white button mushrooms would also work. As well, any kind of sausage can be used – I have chosen to use sun-dried tomato sausage from KJL Meats here in Charlottetown. The herb and garlic Gouda cheese I used is from Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow, PEI. The tomato sauce that I am featuring in both recipes is Aldanel’s “Tomato Celebration” variety but any of their other sauces would work well, too.
1 tsp olive oil
½ tsp butter
12 medium-sized cremini mushrooms, washed, dried, and de-stemmed (reserve the stems)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1½ tbsp onion, finely chopped
2 oz. sun-dried tomato sausage, removed from casing and loosely broken up
2 tbsp Ardanel™ tomato sauce
2 tsp truffle aioli
½ tsp basil
½ cup fine breadcrumbs
2 tbsp shredded Gouda cheese
1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Trim and discard ends from mushroom stems.
Remove the stems from the mushroom caps and place mushroom stems into bowl of small food processor. Pulse until mixture is finely chopped.
Add garlic, onion, and sausage and pulse just until mixture is combined.
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Heat oil in small frypan. Add butter.
Add mushroom-sausage mixture and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until sausage meat is no longer pink.
Transfer mixture to small bowl.
Add the tomato sauce.
Add truffle aioli, basil, breadcrumbs, and cheeses along with salt and pepper to taste.
Place mushroom caps on parchment-lined baking sheet. Stuff each mushroom cap with mixture, slightly mounding the top. Sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 12 minutes. Garnish with fresh chives, sliced green onion, or parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Yield: 12 hors d’oeuvres
12 sausage-stuffed cremini mushroom caps (recipe above)
Tomato Sauce:
½ tbsp butter
1½ tbsp flour
½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup light cream or milk
¼ cup Ardanel™ tomato sauce
½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded Mozarella cheese
Method:
Over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour.
Whisk in the broth and milk until mixture is smooth.
Stir briskly until mixture starts to thicken then add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and cheeses.
Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened to desired consistency.
Grease four oven-safe appetizer-sized baking dishes. Place three stuffed mushrooms into each dish.
Pour the sauce over the mushrooms, dividing it equally between the four dishes.
Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Broil on high for about 5-6 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 appetizer servings
To learn more about the Aldanel tomato sauce products, visit their website.
This recipe is also being submitted for the Foodie Pages CHEF’S BOX Challenge.
———————–
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
I love miniature potatoes. They’re fun to work with. They make wonderful hors d’oeuvres, are the perfect size for roasting, and are the ideal size to drop into soups just the way they are without cutting them up.
Through the Food Bloggers of Canada association of which I am a member, an opportunity arose this fall to take little creamer potatoes produced by the Little Potato™ Company of Alberta and create an original recipe using the potatoes. Coming into the Christmas party season, I immediately saw them as potential hors d’oeuvres.
The Little Potato™ Company grew their first acre of tiny potatoes in 1996. A father and daughter team, Jacob Van der Schaaf and Angela Santiago, planted, weeded, and harvested the first crop by hand. It was a success and soon Angela began marketing the potatoes at Farmers Markets and to restaurants.
The tiny potatoes grew in such popularity that production expanded and, today, the Little Potato™ Company grows six varieties of the little gems which are available at grocery stores across North America. To learn more about The Little Potato™ Company and their various varieties of miniature potatoes, visit their website. You can also find them on Facebook.
Two bags each of Little Potato™ Company yellow fingerlings and Something Blue® mini potatoes arrived via UPS at my door one evening. I was thrilled that the oblong fingerlings were sent since they are the perfect shape and size to use when making miniature stuffed baked potato hors d’oeuvres. The recipe I have created especially for these little creamer potatoes can also be used to stuff mini round potatoes as well but the shape of the fingerlings really lends them to being stuffed attractively.
Any flavour of sausage can be used in this recipe. My choice is sweet Italian but, if you like hot flavours, then chipotle would be a good option. The sausage needs to be removed from its casing and it is important to break up the sausage meat really well as it is being scramble-fried because it is going to be piped through a pastry bag. Also, its purpose is to add flavour to the filling and a large chunk of sausage is not desirable in a tiny hors d’oeuvre.
It’s also necessary to extract as much fat as possible from the cooked sausage as the fat can drip through the potato skin and make a messy hors d’oeuvre. To remove the fat, let the cooked sausage drain in a colander for about 15 minutes then wrap the meat in paper towel, repeating the process a couple of times, if necessary, to remove the excess fat.
The little fingerlings take about 15 minutes to cook. Once they are removed from the boiling water, just barely let them cool enough that they can be handled. Slice each fingerling in half, horizontally. Then, using a melon baller, remove the potato pulp, leaving about a 1/16th inch thick wall of potato in each half to give the potato shape. Transfer the potato pulp to a potato ricer.
Press the potato through the ricer into a small bowl. The potatoes can be mashed instead of ricing but the potato ricer gives a smoother, finer texture that is completely lump-free.
Add the remainder of the ingredients to the riced potato and mix well.
The filling can be transferred to the potatoes with a spoon but a piping bag and Wilton tip 8B makes the job quicker, easier, and will give a neater presentation.
Add a sprinkle of paprika, and pop these little hors d’oeuvres into a 375ºF oven for about 12 minutes. Use either a parchment-lined baking sheet to bake the stuffed potatoes or, if you have a baguette pan, it works really well, too.
Garnish, if desired, with a sliver of green onion or chopped chives, then serve to the delight of guests at your next party.
Ingredients:
1 – 4 oz sausage (e.g., Sweet Italian, Sun-dried Tomato, Chipotle, etc.)
1 tsp olive oil
12 Little Potato Company fingerling creamer potatoes
½ tsp liquid chicken bouillon
½ tsp minced garlic
1 green onion, finely chopped
1½ tsp truffle aioli
2 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp Gouda cheese, finely grated
1½ tsp tomato sauce
⅛ tsp basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika
Slivers of green onion tops or chopped chives for garnish
Method:
Heat olive oil in small frypan. Remove sausage from casing and crumble. Add to hot oil. With the end of a flat, heat-resistant lifter or spatula, continue to break up the sausage as it cooks. Scramble fry until sausage is brown, approximately 7-10 minutes. Transfer sausage to a colander and let fat drip out for about 10-15 minutes. Then, roll the cooked sausage in paper towel to remove any remaining fat. Set aside.
Cook fingerling potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
As soon as the potatoes are just cool enough to handle, cut each in half, horizontally. Using a melon baller, remove the potato pulp from the skin, leaving about a 1/16th inch thick wall of potato in each half to give the potato shape. Transfer potato pulp to a potato ricer. Press pulp through ricer into small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with Wilton tip 8B. Pipe filling into each fingerling half. Sprinkle with paprika. Place mini stuffed potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet or in the cradle of a baguette pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Remove and garnish with a sliver of green onion or chopped chives. Serve hot.
Yield: 24 hors d’oeuvres
Disclosure: The potatoes used in this recipe were provided to me, free of charge, from The Little Potato™ Company for the purposes of sampling them and creating a recipe with them. The recipe for Baked Stuffed Fingerlings in this posting is an original recipe developed by me in my home kitchen.
——————————–
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
Fruitcakes. People either love them or loathe them and there seems to be no middle ground. I personally favour them and they have long been a part of my annual Christmas traditions.
There are basically two kinds of fruitcakes, a light cake and a dark cake. The dark fruitcake is characterized by the addition of molasses, spices, and often strawberry jam, all of which contribute to its dark color. The light fruit cake has a light-colored batter which makes the jewel tones of the glazed fruit pop. It is, by far, the most colorful of the two cakes. While I could not find any conclusive statistics, it seems to me that dark fruitcakes may perhaps be the more common.
Fruitcakes are sometimes called Christmas cakes since that’s often the only time of the year they make an appearance anymore. Years ago, however, fruitcake was a staple at weddings where the dark fruitcake was referred to as the groom’s cake while white pound cake was the bride’s cake. This tradition, at least where I live, has long since been dispensed with and replaced, instead, with many other cake flavor options.
I have been making fruitcakes for decades (I started making them when I was two! At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Or, maybe it’s the vapors from the joy juice I’ve been brushing on my fruitcake over the past several weeks talking!). Some years I make both dark and light fruitcakes and, other years, one or the other. I simply love the smell of a fruitcake baking in the oven on a cold November afternoon. I always make my fruitcake around Remembrance Day as that gives it lots of time to “ripen” and mellow before the holidays. The making of the fruitcake heralds the beginning of my holiday preparations.
Fruitcakes are still considered a luxurious treat by many because the ingredients can be costly and the cake is time-consuming to make. Sometimes it is even hard to find the big sticky raisins, often referred to as Lexia raisins, which are a signature ingredient in a traditional dark fruitcake.
Essentially, a fruit cake is a mixture of candied/glazed fruit, different kinds of raisins, and often nuts, all held together by a small amount of batter. Before I share my recipe for dark fruitcake at the end of this posting, I am going to share some hints and tips from my many years of making fruitcakes. I hope you will find them helpful.
Traditionally, fruitcakes are either square or round-shaped and quite deep – at least 2½” – 3” deep. The pans should be ones that have removable bottoms as this makes it easy to remove the cake from the pan. The pans below have been in my family for years and have held many fruitcakes. They may be old and discolored but they do the trick!
Square cakes are infinitely easier to cut and plate more attractively than round cakes. With square pans, each piece can be cut to the same size and shape whereas, with round cakes, it is more difficult to get nice, even shaped pieces cut. There is a trick to cutting round cakes but it is certainly more complicated and time-consuming that cutting straight slices from a square-edged cake. However, the shape of the cake is a personal preference and the cake will taste the same regardless of shape.
It is very important to use the size of pan the recipe calls for as baking times have been tested for its size. Some bakers use loaf pans, 9”x13” shallow pans, or even muffin cups or soup cans in which to bake their fruit cakes. If changing a pan size from the one indicated by a recipe, remember that baking times will need to be adjusted accordingly as a more shallow or smaller cake will take less time than a deeper one to bake. Bakers will need to rely on their baking experience to determine when a cake is baked if they choose to use a pan size different from the one indicated in a recipe and in which the cake recipe has been tested.
Commonly, the glazed and dry fruit, including the raisins and currants, are soaked in liquor, with rum or brandy the most commonly used types of libation. Alternatively the fruit can be soaked in a fruit juice.
The purpose of soaking the fruit is three-fold:
1) To soften/plump/rehydrated the dried fruit – the raisins, in particular;
2) To add flavour to the cake; and
3) As a preservative (if using liquor) to extend the shelf life of the cake.
Some bakers soak the fruit for several months. I don’t find this necessary or that the cake has any significantly better flavour if made with fruit that has been soaked for months. In my opinion, the fruit will only absorb so much liquid and flavor, no matter how long it is soaked. I soak the fruit in a covered container for 24-48 hours, stirring it 3-4 times during the macerating process.
It is important to resist adding more liquor to the fruit soak than is called for in the recipe. Adding too much liquor will add too much liquid to the batter, making it too runny to hold the fruit from falling to the cake bottom and it may also cause the cake to sink in the center as it bakes, potentially causing a soggy cake.
True traditional fruit cakes will have candied/glazed fruit, a mixture of raisins, and sometimes nuts. It is important that candied/glazed fruit be used and not, for example, fruit with a lot of liquid such as maraschino cherries or fresh fruit which will add too much excess liquid to the batter.
Fruitcakes typically do contain nuts; however, my recipe below is nut-free. I find several issues with including nuts in a fruitcake:
1) Nuts, over the long term, can go rancid or, alternatively, be hard junks in an otherwise soft texture cake;
2) Chunks of nuts can make it difficult to cut the cake; and
3) Many people have nut allergies and cannot enjoy a piece of fruitcake made with nuts.
Fruitcake ingredients can be flexible which means substitute ingredients are perfectly acceptable so long as the overall weight content of the fruit that the recipe calls for is maintained. For example, my fruitcake recipe calls for 3 pounds of fruit and I have listed the weight content of each individual ingredient making up that 3-pound fruit content. If you don’t happen to like citron, for example, simply omit the 3 oz called for and replace it with another glazed fruit of the same weight.
A fruit cake batter is very thick and dense and contains very little flour content. Essentially, there is just enough batter to hold the ingredients together. The reason the batter needs to be thick (as opposed to runny) is that it needs to support the heavy fruit content and keep it suspended and distributed evenly throughout the cake. Otherwise, the fruit will fall to the bottom of the cake.
It is important to “flour” the fruit with a small amount of flour just before adding the fruit to the batter. This will also help to keep the fruit suspended throughout the cake. You will want to do this quickly and not leave the floured fruit any length of time before adding it to the batter as the flour when combined with the glaze on the fruit can turn into a gummy mess, thus defeating the purpose of flouring the fruit.
The pan needs to be greased or sprayed with cooking oil then lined with either brown paper or parchment paper, then greased/sprayed again. I recommend lining the pan with a couple of layers of paper. Because there is very little leavening in the cake and because it is a heavy, thick cake, the pan can be fairly well filled without risk of batter running over the top.
There are many ways to decorate the top of a fruitcake and some are very elaborate and show-worthy. I do caution, however, about adding too much fruit to the top of the cake for decoration as glazed/candied fruits are weighty and may cause a cake to not rise properly or even to sink, especially in the center. I sometimes decorate the top of the cake as shown in the photo below but often leave it completely plain as it is easier to cut and plate.
Some bakers cover the cake with royal icing and marzipan. However, I find that the moisture from a dark fruit cake stains the icing making it less attractive.
Baking is always the tricky part to fruitcake making. Fruitcakes need to be baked in slow ovens – i.e., 275ºF or less for several hours. Baking at too high a temperature will result in a dry cake. Bake the fruitcake in the center of the oven rack that is positioned in the lower third of the oven. This will allow for adequate airflow needed for the cake to bake properly and evenly on all sides. Include a small pan of hot tap water on the shelf below the cake (or on the floor of the oven). The steam from the water will help to keep the cake moist as it bakes.
No matter what kind of home oven you have or how good you think the air circulation in it is, I do not recommend baking more than one cake in the oven at a time. Fruitcakes are not cheap to make and you want to create a baking environment so the cake has the best chance of success. Leaving lots of room for airflow in the oven will help the cake bake evenly and properly. If you want more than one fruitcake, I recommend making them as separate batches and on separate days.
If the cake starts to darken too much before it is baked, loosely tent a piece of tin foil over the top of the cake. However, only do this if the cake top has completely set all over as, otherwise, the tin foil will stick to the cake and pull some of the batter away from it thus ruining the look of the cake top.
The cake is done when it is firm to the touch and a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into the cake center comes out relatively clean but with some moisture on it. The cake should not, however, be doughy. I generally start testing my cake about ½ hour before its designated baking time is up, then check it at 15-minute intervals until it is done. The blue cake tester in the photo below is actually a cake thermometer. If the tip of the thermometer turns bright red after having been inserted into the center of the cake for 5 seconds, the cake is done.
Cool the cake for at least 40 minutes or more before carefully removing it from the pan and transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. If you are using a cake pan that does not have a removable bottom, I recommend leaving the cake in the pan longer to allow it to more completely set. Because a fruit cake is a dense cake, it will take several hours or overnight for the cake to cool completely.
Once the cake has cooled completely, I brush a light coating of rum or brandy – whatever I have used in the cake – all over the cake. This adds more flavour and helps to maintain the cake’s moisture. This is not a “sousing” exercise and the cake, because it is new and fresh will quickly absorb the liquor applied to it. Do not saturate the cake with the liquor. Simply give it a brushing all over with the liquor and leave it at that. As a weekly application of the liquor occurs, the cake will absorb the alcohol more slowly than at first application.
Even if you plan to cut the cake into pieces to share with friends and family, do not cut into the cake before it has been brushed with the alcohol and given a chance to ripen for several weeks. If you do, you have defeated the purpose of the ripening process that allows the cake’s flavor to develop. You do not want any open cut sides of the cake during this process as too much liquor will get into the cut side, potentially creating a soggy and stodgy cake. There is a clear difference between a moist cake and a soggy one. Therefore, you want to be brush the hide of the cake, not cut sides.
Wrap the cake in cheesecloth (which can also be soaked in liquor) followed by a double layer of plastic wrap and double of tin foil.
The cake is then placed in a sealed bag and stored it in a cool, dry place to mellow or ripen, a process of time that allows the cake’s flavours to mix and mingle. I leave the cake stored at a very cool room temperature for 3-4 weeks, giving it a weekly nightcap by brushing another light coating of the liquor all over the cake and re-wrapping it (re-soaking the cheesecloth in the liquor and wringing it out each time). The cake will, for the first while, continue to quickly absorb the liquor as soon as it is brushed on; however, that is not a license to keep adding more liquor. This application of liquor is meant to infuse flavour and keep the cake moist (but not soggy wet). The liquor-dampened cheesecloth wrapped around the cake that is tightly stored in plastic wrap will help to keep the cake moist as well. I do not apply the liquor beyond the 4-week period.
It is extremely important that the cake not be bathed or saturated with liquor for a couple of reasons. First, it will make the cake very wet and soggy which is not the hallmark texture of a good quality fruit cake. It may also cause the cake to sink down because it is so moisture-logged. When you think about it, the cake is wrapped in cheesecloth, then tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, two layers of tin foil, and sealed in a plastic bag to age. Applying too much liquor means there is no way it will evaporate and nowhere for it to go except into the cake, likely overloading it with liquid, resulting in a soggy mess.
Second, there certainly is such a thing as adding too much liquor to the cake as it will cause an offputting, potent, flavour. In essence, it will ruin the taste of the cake. Apply the old adage that less is more when applying the liquor. Use a light brushing of the liquor and the liquor-soaked cheesecloth to add any necessary flavor and moisture to the cake. I personally think that the reason some people may not like fruitcake is because they have, somewhere, been given a piece of fruitcake that was way too wet and had far too much liquor applied to it. If the first thing you taste when you bite into a piece of fruitcake is the liquor, the cake has had far too much liquor added to it, either in the cake itself or applied to it as it mellowed.
After letting the cake mellow, I remove the cheesecloth and keep the cake wrapped in plastic wrap and tin foil inside a sealed bag and store it in the refrigerator or freeze it. It’s important to let the cake ripen first at cool room temperature as it won’t mellow further once refrigerated or frozen.
I find the fruitcake slices easier from the refrigerator than at room temperature as it is a bit firmer when chilled. I recommend using a sharp, flat-edged knife to cut the cake as a serrated knife, for example, may pull the fruit during cutting, creating a ragged, uneven edge.
I cut each slab, across the full width of the cake, a good ½” wide. It needs to be a good width in order for it to hold together as it is being sliced.
For suggested serving size, I recommend slicing each slab into pieces that are about 1¼” wide.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
7 oz seeded raisins (i.e., Lexia)
7 oz golden raisins
7 oz cup sultana raisins
3 oz dates, chopped
2 oz currants
9 oz mixed glazed fruit
4 oz red glazed cherries
4 oz green glazed cherries
3 oz citron
2 oz mixed peel
⅔ cup rum
½ cup flour
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp mace
½ tsp nutmeg
½ lb butter
¼ cup white sugar
1½ cups brown sugar
4 extra large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond flavouring
2½ tbsp molasses
½ cup strawberry jam
Method:
Measure fruit and transfer to a large bowl. Mix well. Pour ⅔ cup of rum over fruit. Stir to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand for 24-48 hours to macerate the fruit, stirring occasionally.
Prepare 8-inch square fruitcake pan that is 3 inches deep and has a removable bottom: Lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray. Line the pan, bottom and sides, with brown paper or parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper.
Position oven rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 275°F.
Sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Using the paddle attachment on the stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Add the white sugar. Beat. Add the brown sugar and beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure sugar is all incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the vanilla and almond flavouring followed by the molasses. Mix thoroughly. Mix in the strawberry jam.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined into batter. Transfer batter to very large bowl. 
Sprinkle remaining ½ cup of flour (listed above in first set of ingredients) over the macerated fruit and toss ingredients lightly and quickly. 
Add the floured fruit to the batter and mix thoroughly. 
Transfer batter by large spoonfuls into the prepared baking pan. Use a knife to evenly spread the batter in the pan.
Add a few cherries as decorations to the top of the cake, if desired.
Place a small pan of water on the lower shelf in the oven. Bake fruitcake in the center of the oven rack (that has been positioned in the lower third of the oven) for about 5¾ hours or until cake is firm to the touch and cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place on rack. Let cake cool in pan for about 40 minutes before carefully removing from pan and letting rest on cooling rack.
Let cake cool completely before brushing with rum and wrapping in cheesecloth, followed by plastic wrap and tin foil, then storing in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dry area. Remove wrapping and brush cake top and sides with rum once a week. For best flavour, let cake “age” for at least 3-4 weeks before cutting and serving.
Yield: 1 – 6 lb cake
Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 275°F.
Place a small pan of water on the lower shelf in the oven. Place cake in the center of the oven rack (that has been positioned in the lower third of the oven) and bake fruitcake for about 5¾ hours or until cake is firm to the touch and cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place on rack. Let cake cool in pan for about 40 minutes before carefully removing from pan and letting rest on cooling rack.
Let cake cool completely before brushing with rum and wrapping in cheesecloth, followed by plastic wrap and tin foil, then storing in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dry area. Remove wrapping and brush cake top and sides with rum once a week. Let cake “age” for at least 3-4 weeks before cutting and serving.
Yield: 1 - 6 lb cake
NOTE: Be sure to read the entire posting that accompanies this recipe for tips on how to make the perfect fruit cake.
Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen
Festive Light Fruitcake
Gluten-free Light Fruitcake
Spirited Dundee Cake
Sultana Cake
Gumdrop Cake
Join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo at the end of this posting to your favorite Pinterest boards!
Post last updated November 1, 2022
Move over pumpkin! Your cousin, squash, makes better pies!
Growing up, it was more common in our household to have squash rather than pumpkin pie. My ancestors always claimed squash makes a better, more tasty pie and I have to agree. Squash gives a richer pie with a depth of flavour that I don’t find characteristic of pumpkin.
There are several different kinds of squash that can be used for pie making but my preference is the tall vase-or bell-shaped butternut squash. Butternut squash is considered a variety of winter squash. Though harvested in autumn, butternut squash is generally available in supermarkets through the winter months because of the squash’s long “keeping” quality. I’m guessing it is their availability through the winter months that has earned them the term “winter” squash since they certainly wouldn’t be harvested in the winter in our cold and frosty northeastern climate! With its mildly nutty flavour, butternut squash has a natural sweetness to it. The pulp of the butternut squash is bright orange in color and, while it loses that color when made in to a pie, it turns to a lovely caramel color.
My grandmother always cooked her squash in a pot with some water on the stovetop. However, squash already has a high moisture content and adding more water to the mix can make it difficult to get the cooked squash sufficiently drained that you don’t end up with a soupy texture pie. My preference is to, instead, roast the squash as it reduces the moisture level and I find it also gives the squash an even deeper, richer flavour.
For my squash pie recipe (found at the end of this posting), 2 cups of puréed squash is needed. I used a butternut squash weighing 3 pounds which yielded 4 cups of purée, enough for 2 – 10″ pies. So, if all you want is one pie, try to find a squash that weighs 1½ to 1¾ pounds.
To roast the squash, I simply began by cutting the squash in half, starting at the top narrow end, slicing all the way through to the bottom.
With a spoon, remove the seeds.
With a soft brush, apply a thin layer of olive oil to both the flesh and skin sides of the squash.
Place squash, flesh side down, on a greased, foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for about a half hour. Remove the squash from the oven and, with a large lifter, carefully flip the pieces over, applying another light brushing of olive oil to the flesh side. Return the squash to the oven for about another half hour or so, until the flesh of the squash is very soft. Remove from oven.
As soon as the squash has just cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin of the squash and put it in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until the squash is puréed smooth.
Then, transfer the purée to a cheesecloth-lined colander fitted over a large bowl or pot and leave it to drip for about an hour or so. The goal is to remove as much remaining liquid as possible. I find it helps to stir the mixture two to three times and to press down the mixture with the back of a large spoon to extract the liquid.
To make one pie, transfer 2 cups of the purée to a medium-sized bowl.
Add the slightly-beaten eggs.
Next, add the sugars, salt, spices, and evaporated milk.
Mix the ingredients well – I use a hand mixer.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Although not necessary, I sometimes (but not always) pre-bake the crust for about 10 minutes to set it. If you do this, be sure to use pie weights to ensure the crust does not bubble up, creating air pockets underneath.
I find it useful to place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet for easy transport into the oven. The filling is very liquid at this point and it is very easy to spill it or slosh it up over the sides of the crust edges. In fact, sometimes, I only partially fill the pie, then set it on the oven rack and finish filling it there.
It helps to start baking the pie at 375°F for the first 15 minutes to give it a quick set then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 1¼ hours longer or until a knife, or a toothpick, inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.
The pie should be thoroughly cooled and allowed to set before cutting.
1½ – 1¾ lb butternut squash
Pastry for deep 10-inch single crust pie
For the pie filling:
2 cups squash purée
2 extra large eggs, slightly beaten
⅔ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
⅓ cup white sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp mace
⅛ tsp nutmeg
1⅔ cup evaporated milk
To roast the squash:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Line large rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Spray with cooking oil.
Cut the squash in half from top to bottom. Remove and discard seeds. Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of squash. Place squash, flesh side down, on baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes then remove from oven and carefully flip the squash halves over. Apply a light brushing of olive oil on the flesh side of the squash. Return squash to oven and continue roasting for another 20-30 minutes or until squash is very soft.
To prepare the squash purée:
Line a large colander with cheesecloth. Set aside.
Remove squash from oven. As soon as the squash has just cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the squash and place it in the bowl of a food processor. Purée the squash until it is very smooth.
Transfer the purée to the cheesecloth-lined colander. Let sit for about an hour to allow any excess water to drain from the purée. From time to time, stir the purée and, with a large spoon, press out the moisture from the purée.
To make the pie filling:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Transfer purée to a medium-sized bowl and add the eggs, sugars, salt, spices, and milk. With a mixer (either a hand or stand mixer), mix ingredients thoroughly. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell. Place on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake pie in lower third of oven at 375°F for 15 minutes then lower temperature to 350°F and continue baking pie for about 1¼ hours longer or until knife or toothpick inserted in center of pie comes out clean.
Let pie cool completely before cutting.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Yield: 8-10 servings
Similar in taste to Pumpkin Pie, this Squash Pie is made with butternut squash and has a lovely deep flavour with spices similar to those used in pumpkin pie.
Yield: 8-10 servings
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.
Joining the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Following “the Bistro” on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
Seeing the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Following “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/
One of my all-time favorites is the traditional old-fashioned Apple Crisp dessert — the sweet apple flavour filling topped with a crisp, crunchy streusel. And, oh, the heavenly scent in the house when the apple crisp is baking! Continue reading Old-fashioned Apple Crisp
By now, most gardeners probably have tomatoes spilling out of their gardens.
Do you have an abundance of green tomatoes you’re wondering what to do with? Today, I am sharing my recipe for Green Tomato Chow (recipe follows at end of posting), a tasty condiment that makes good use of green tomatoes.
I grew up with chow being made every fall. It’s a great condiment to serve with cold meats, baked beans, stews, casseroles, chicken and meat pies, hot chicken/beef/turkey dinners, and, of course, if you are a Maritimer, with fish cakes.
Chow is not difficult to make but, like any pickling and preserving, it can be a bit time-consuming since the vegetables have to be cut up and soaked for several hours (either all day or all night), then slowly simmered until cooked. Making chow is not something that can be rushed.
The first thing you need to do is gather up all the ingredients and equipment you will need. Chow is basically nothing more than green tomatoes, onions, celery, red pepper, vinegar, sugar, and spices along with some pickling salt. No out of the ordinary ingredients. A list of equipment and utensils needed to make the chow can be found further down in this post.
You can use regular white vinegar for this recipe but I recommend using the pickling vinegar which is stronger.
Any kind of green tomatoes will make good chow. The ones I’ve used are just the basic garden variety of tomatoes. It’s usually a case of whatever green tomatoes are available in the garden!
Some cooks cut the tomatoes crosswise into slices. I cut mine into chunks. Either works. You don’t, however, want to chop the vegetables up too finely as it will start to resemble more of a relish than a chow.
Cut up the onions, celery, and red pepper.
Place all the vegetables into a large bowl.
The vegetables need to be soaked for 7-8 hours in a salt brine. Be sure to use pickling salt, not regular table salt (see my posting on mustard pickles for explanation). It’s important to ensure that the salt is completely dissolved in water before pouring it over the vegetables. You will need enough salted cold water to completely cover the vegetables to soak. I use a ratio of 1/2 cup pickling salt to 4 cups of water.
Pour the salt brine over the vegetables and set the mixture aside to soak for 7 – 8 hours.
Drain the vegetables into a large colander.
Under cold running water, quickly rinse the vegetables to remove any salt residue. Swish the vegetables around to ensure that all are rinsed off.
You’ll want to get as much water drained out of the vegetables as possible so let them sit in the colander for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You may want to carefully stir the vegetables around in the colander periodically during this period to ensure better drainage.
Meanwhile, prepare the spice sachet. I make a small cheesecloth sachet by doubling, or even folding the open weave cheesecloth over 3-4 times, and then placing the pickling spice mixture in the centre. The sides of the cheesecloth are then gathered up and tied with kitchen string or very strong thread. The whole spices need to be corralled in a sachet as, well, it’s not a very pleasant experience to unexpectedly bite into a whole clove in the chow, for example! I buy a pickling spice mix at my local bulk foods store. If you can’t find a product labelled “pickling spice” in your area, you can always make your own. In my mustard pickle posting I give an explanation of spices typically included in a pickling spice mix. This sachet will get dropped into the stockpot and infuse flavor into the chow base as the chow cooks.
Into a large stockpot, place the sugars, spices, and vinegar. Stir well.
Drop in the spice sachet and bring mixture to a boil.
Add the drained vegetables and return mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook until vegetables are cooked, somewhat translucent, and the mixture is slightly thickened. Stir mixture occasionally to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
While the chow is cooking, start the bottle sterilization process. Again, refer to my mustard pickle posting for details on this and the proper canning jars to use.
Once the chow is cooked and thickened, remove it from the heat and remove and discard the pickling spice sachet. Bottle the chow while it is hot into the hot, sterilized bottles. With clean, damp cloth, wipe each jar rim to remove any sticky chow residue. Seal immediately with heated lids. Screw on jar bands just until resistance is met.
Process filled jars immediately in a hot water bath. I process my half-pint jars for 10 minutes (at a rolling boil) but you should refer to the canner manufacturer’s directions for the proper time for your local altitude. Cool the jars, undisturbed, on the counter for 24 hours and then store them in cool, dark place. Let chow age for at least 2 weeks before serving.
Chow making, like pickling, is a process and takes time. Make sure you read through the recipe several times before making the recipe to ensure understanding of the process and sequencing involved.
Digital Scales for weighing tomatoes
7 pint-sized glass canning jars
7 – two-piece lid and screw band sets (lids must be brand new and not previously used)
Cheesecloth for making spice sachet and kitchen string for tying sachet
Large measuring cup or bowl for mixing salt water brine
Large bowl for soaking vegetables in salt water brine
Large colander for draining vegetables
Large heavy-bottomed stock pot for cooking chow
Large pot for sterilizing jars
Small saucepan for heating jar lids
Water bath canner with basket
Jar lifter tongs
Wide-mouthed canning funnel
Ladle or heat-proof glass measuring cup
Chopstick or small heat-proof spatula
Magnetic lid lifter
A timer
Ingredients:
3 lbs green tomatoes, chopped into chunks
3¼ cups onions, chopped
1 cup celery, sliced
½ cup sweet red pepper, diced
Apx. 1 cup pickling salt
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Using the ratio of ½ cup pickling salt to 4 cups cold water, cover ingredients completely with salted water. Add as much salted water as necessary to cover the vegetables. For this amount of vegetables, you will likely need at least 1 cup pickling salt dissolved in 8 cups water. Make sure the pickling salt is thoroughly dissolved in the water before pouring over vegetables. Let vegetables soak at room temperature for 7-8 hours. Drain vegetables in large colander. Quickly rinse vegetables with cold water to remove any traces of salted water residue on vegetables. Let vegetables drain in colander for 1 to 1½ hours, gently stirring the vegetables periodically for better drainage.
4 cups pickling vinegar
3 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ – 2 tbsp pickling spice tied into a small pickling spice sachet made with cheesecloth
¼ tsp tumeric
¼ tsp dry mustard
Method:
Combine vinegar, sugars, and spices into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the drained vegetables and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook mixture slowly for1 to 1½ hours until vegetables are cooked, somewhat translucent, and mixture is slightly thickened. Stir periodically.
While chow mixture is cooking, start the bottle sterilization process. Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water. Quickly wash the lids and do not let them stay in the hot dish water as, once heated enough to soften the rubber sealing compound and then cooled, they are no longer effective. Rinse jars and lid. (The lids will be heated to soften the rubber sealing compound at the time of bottling.)
Fill a large-sized pot about two-thirds full of hot tap water. Place the jars, upright, into the water. Ensure the jars are fully submerged, each jar filled with water, and that the water is at least an inch over the tops of the jars, adding more if necessary. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and leave the jars in the hot water to have ready to fill once the chow is ready for bottling.
Fill the canner a good half full of hot tap water. Cover and bring to a boil to have it ready for processing of the filled jars. Once it comes to a full boil, reduce heat to keep the water gently boiling.
When the chow is ready to be bottled, use jar lifter tongs to carefully remove the hot sterilized jars from the water, one at a time, emptying the water from the jars back into the pot. Drain jars well.
Remove a small amount of the hot water from the stockpot in which the jars were sterilized and place in small saucepan over simmering heat. Place the lids in the hot water for just a few minutes to soften the rubber sealing compound. Do not boil the lids.
Boil a kettle of water to have ready to top up water in the canner, if needed, once the filled jars are added.
Remove and discard spice sachet from chow. Using a ladle, or a heat-proof glass measuring cup, and a wide-mouthed canning funnel, fill the hot sterilized jars with the chow, leaving about 1/2” headroom in each jar to allow for expansion during the hot water processing. Remove any trapped air bubbles in the jars with a chopstick or small heatproof spatula. Wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth to remove any stickiness that could prevent the lids from sealing properly to the jars.
Using a magnetic lid lifter, remove lids from the hot water and center the heated lids on jars so the sealing compound on the lid edges aligns with the jar rims. Fingertip tighten the ring/screw bands until resistance is encountered. Do not over-tighten.
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully place filled jars upright in the canner’s wire basket positioned in the canner, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Ensure the water level is at least 1” above the tops of jars, adding more boiling water as necessary. Cover with canner lid. Increase the heat to return the water to a full rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a moderately rolling boil but not boiling over. Process jars in the hot water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting time as and if necessary, for higher altitudes. Start timing the processing from the point at which a full rolling boil is reached after filled jars have been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid.
Let jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes then, using jar lifter tongs, carefully remove the jars filled with chow, upright and one at a time, and transfer them to a heat-proof cutting board, that has been covered with a towel, to cool completely. Listen for the “pop” or “ping” sound as the bottles seal over the next few minutes or hours. The lids of properly sealed jars will curve downward.
Let jars rest, undisturbed, on counter for 24 hours. Cover jars with towel to keep light out. Then, after 24 hours, test each jar for proper sealing by pressing down on the center of each jar lid. If the lid is already pressed downward, and does not pop back up, it is properly sealed. Any jars that do not pass this test should be refrigerated and the chow used within a week or so. Store properly sealed chow bottles in cool, dark place. Refrigerate chow once jar has been opened.
For best flavor, let chow age for at least 2 weeks before serving.
Yield: Apx. 6 – 7 half-pint jars.
This Green Tomato Chow is a sweet yet slightly tangy condiment. Lovely served with many meals, it is superb served with fish cakes.
Combine vinegar, sugars, and spices into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the drained vegetables and bring just to the boiling point. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook mixture, uncovered, slowly for 1 to 1½ hours, until vegetables are cooked, somewhat translucent, and mixture is slightly thickened. Stir periodically.
While chow mixture is cooking, start the bottle sterilization process. Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water. Quickly wash the lids and do not let them stay in the hot dish water as, once heated enough to soften the rubber sealing compound and then cooled, they are no longer effective. Rinse jars and lids. (The lids will later be heated to soften the rubber sealing compound at the time of bottling.)
Fill a large-sized pot about two-thirds full of hot tap water. Place the jars, upright, into the water. Ensure the jars are fully submerged, each jar filled with water, and that the water is at least an inch over the tops of the jars, adding more if necessary. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and leave the jars in the hot water to have ready to fill once the chow is ready for bottling.
Remove a small amount of the hot water from the stockpot in which the jars were sterilized and place in small saucepan over simmering heat. Place the lids in the hot water for a few minutes to soften the rubber sealing compound. Do not boil the lids.
Remove and discard spice sachet from chow. Using a ladle, or a heat-proof glass measuring cup, and a wide-mouthed canning funnel, fill the hot sterilized jars with the chow, leaving about 1/2” headroom in each jar to allow for expansion during the hot water processing. Remove any trapped air bubbles in the jars with a chopstick or small heatproof spatula. Wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth to remove any stickiness that could prevent the lids from sealing properly to the jars.
Using jar lifter tongs, carefully place filled jars upright in the canner's wire basket positioned in the canner, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Ensure the water level is at least 1” above the tops of jars, adding more boiling water as necessary. Cover with canner lid. Increase the heat to return the water to a full rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a moderately rolling boil but not boiling over. Process jars in the hot water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting time as and if necessary, for higher altitudes. Start timing the processing from the point at which a full rolling boil is reached after jars have been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid.
For best flavor, let chow age for at least 2 weeks before serving.
Yield: Apx. 6 – 7 half-pint jars. Exact yield will depend on how much the chow is cooked down.
You can join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/
For other great pickle and relish recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:
Mustard Pickles
Dill Pickles
Bread and Butter Pickles
Rhubarb Relish
Mustard Beans
Pickled Beets
Rhubarb and Mango Chutney
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.
This post was last updated on September 16, 2022
As I write this post, it’s apple season in Prince Edward Island and orchards are filled with trees bearing wonderful apples of so many varieties. There’s nothing like heading to a u-pick orchard to pick your own apples. I typically pick several pecks each fall — in fact, sometimes it’s easy to get carried away and pick too many! However, they do get processed into pies, crisps, sauces, and jellies like this Crabapple Jelly.
Continue reading Crabapple Jelly
Oh, those gorgeous big highbush Blueberries! They just beg to be made into Blueberry Bread Pudding! Continue reading Blueberry Bread Pudding
I love late August because there is an abundance of fresh garden produce available. Vegetable and dip platters make a great snack for any occasion. Vegetables are so colorful that they make any platter look outstanding plus raw vegetables are healthy food.
I like to use a variety of vegetables, colors, shapes, and textures on a veggie platter, making it pleasing to both the eye and the palette. Like these colorful dragon tongue beans, for example. These beans are actually best eaten raw because, if cooked, they lose their color.
I like the crunchiness of raw cauliflower which now comes in a variety of colors – purple, green, or this bright orange.
Make sure a variety of veggies are included so there is something for everyone’s taste.
I love the many varieties and colors of cherry tomatoes available including these pear-shaped and tiger-striped ones.
It’s easy, I know, and sometimes tempting to buy bottled dip from the supermarket but the downside is those dips/dressings may contain ingredients that aren’t necessarily so healthy. That’s why I like to make my own dip.
The dip recipe I am sharing today actually does double duty in a couple of ways. First, it contains fresh veggies so, not only do the vegetables get dipped into it but the dip itself also has radishes, onion, green pepper, and cucumber as ingredients in it. Second, this dip may also be used as a salad dressing on your favorite green salad. The dip doesn’t contain any unusual or hard-to-find ingredients.
This is an easy dip to make. Other than mincing up the veggies, it’s simply a matter of mixing all the ingredients together in one bowl. It’s best if it chills for at least a couple of hours before serving which also makes it convenient as it can be prepared and refrigerated earlier in the day. The veggies can also be prepared earlier in the day as well which makes it one less thing to do before a gathering.
Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Dash of garlic powder, to taste
3 tbsp finely chopped radishes
¼ cup finely chopped green pepper
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup finely chopped English cucumber, unpeeled
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
In medium-sized bowl, combine sour cream and mayonnaise. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir well.
Add the finely chopped (minced) vegetables and stir to blend well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours prior to serving.
Serve with your favourite selection of garden vegetables.
Note: This may also be used as a dressing for tossed salads. This recipe is easily halved or doubled according to need.
Yield: Apx. 2 cups
Because there is sour cream and mayonnaise in this dip, it needs to be kept cold. I use a container that has a cavity for ice and then the dip container itself sits on top of the ice to keep it cool.
As soon as I spotted these napkins, I knew they would be appropriate for one of my vegetable and dip trays.
Yield: Apx. 2 cups
Note: This may also be used as a dressing for tossed salads.
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.
You can join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/
And, of course, by subscribing to receive an email notification of new posts and recipes, you can be among the first to know when I publish a new post or recipe. Simply enter your name and email address in the Subscription block over on the right-hand side of my home page.
Fresh basil is plentiful in many gardens and at farmers’ markets right now. It’s a good time to make a batch or two of basil pesto.
Basil pesto is so versatile. It can be used on pizzas, in pasta dishes, mixed with mayo for a sandwich spread, in soups, salads, in wraps, spread with butter over corn on the cob, as an ingredient in steamed mussels, and the list goes on. As any creative cook will attest, basil pesto is a good staple to have on hand.
If you have an abundance of basil growing in your herb garden, or otherwise at your disposal, making pesto is a quick, easy, simple way to process it for a multitude of uses. It takes very few ingredients but, fair warning, one key ingredient is very expensive – pine nuts. However, the recipe doesn’t take many, thankfully. I bought 1/4 cup to use in my recipe and it came to $2.65. Walnuts can be substituted for pine nuts.
One of the easiest ways to store pesto is to freeze it in ice cube trays.
Simply place a large piece of plastic wrap over the ice cube slots and fill each with the pesto. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours. Remove from freezer and lift the plastic wrap with the frozen pesto cubes from the tray. Peel off the frozen pesto cubes and store them in a sealed container or plastic bag in the freezer. These are very handy because they can easily be popped into soup or quickly thawed for spreading on your favorite sandwich or wrap or used in any other dish in which you would normally use basil pesto. If you need more than a tablespoon or two of pesto at a time then, of course, you will want to freeze the pesto in larger containers.
Ingredients:
2 cups gently packed fresh basil leaves (washed and dried)
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
My fresh basil is from Just A Little Farm in Bonshaw, PEI. Farmer Jessica Vos grows her herbs and vegetables naturally with no chemicals.
In food processor, mix together the basil leaves, pine nuts, and garlic.
Pulse until mixture is finely chopped into a paste.
With the food processor running, add about ⅓ of the olive oil in a steady, slow stream. Reserve remaining oil for drizzling over finished pesto.
Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse again.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bottle the pesto and drizzle remaining olive oil over the pesto. Store pesto in refrigerator or freeze.
Yield: Apx. ¾ cup
Here are a couple of my favorite uses of basil pesto.
Corn on the Cob – Slather some butter and basil pesto on hot steamed peaches and cream corn.
We love our PEI mussels! A cube of basil pesto is a quick way to add some extra flavor to the steaming broth for mussels. Added to some onion, garlic, and white wine, the pesto deepens the flavour of the mussels.
Oh, and don’t forget to dip those tasty little morsels in melted butter! 
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
I don’t think I have ever met anyone who did not like cinnamon rolls. Just the scent of them baking in the oven makes the house smell sooooo divine! Continue reading Quick Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
A number of years ago, a couple in North Tryon, PEI, began a high-bush blueberry U-pick. The berries are so easy to pick and the bushes are just laden with these huge plump blueberries. They are super yummy in Blueberry Muffins! Continue reading Blueberry Muffins
It’s Food Day Canada today (August 2, 2014). This is a day to celebrate and enjoy all the great food that is grown, fished, or otherwise produced in Canada. Coming from Prince Edward Island, we are truly blessed with the abundance and variety of fresh food at our disposal.
As those of you who are regular followers of my food blog know, my focus is on eating local food whenever possible and supporting local food producers, be they farmers, fishers, or other food producers. And, this I do more than one day a year. It’s a regular occurrence in our household.
Today, I am pleased to share with you the menu and photographs of what is on my table today for Food Day Canada 2014 and where the food came from. The menu includes foods that come from the waters that surround our Island and from the rich, red soil of our land.
PEI Mussels steamed in beer
and dipped in melted butter
Served with Multigrain Bread
PEI Scallops pan-seared in butter
Boiled PEI potatoes
Medley of steamed yellow string beans, broccoli, and carrots
Haskap Shortcake
Whipped cream and a rich haskap sauce
sandwiched between layers of old-fashioned sponge cake
with a drizzle of haskap sauce on top
Chardonnay Seyval Blanc, Newman Estate Winery, Gladstone, PEI
Products & Sources: Mussels – Prince Edward Aqua Farms Inc., Springbrook, PEI
Beer – Gahan’s Sir John A’s Honey Wheat Ale from the Prince Edward Island Brewing Co., Charlottetown, PEI (Update Note 2021 – this beer is expected to undergo a name change shortly)
Bread – Multigrain from the Whole Grain Bakery, Freetown, PEI
Butter – Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL), Summerside, PEI
I love mussels! PEI mussels are world famous and my mussels today came from Prince Edward Aqua Farms in Springbrook, on the North side of the Island.
There are many ways in which mussels can be prepared. They can be steamed in water, wine, beer, apple juice, or in just about any liquid that strikes your fancy. The key is to use just a small amount of liquid as too much liquid dilutes the flavour of the mussels. It is the steam that opens the mussel shells, not the amount of liquid used.
While I am not a beer drinker, my preferred liquid for steaming mussels is beer. Today, I am using Gahan’s Sir John A’s Honey Wheat Ale, brewed by the Prince Edward Island Brewing Co. in Charlottetown, PEI (click here to read the story I wrote on the Brewery). [2021 Update: This beer is expected to undergo a name change shortly]
While nothing other than the beer is really required for steaming the mussels, I like to add some herbs, spices, a bit of garlic, onion, carrots, and celery to the steaming liquid for additional flavour. It usually takes only about 7-10 minutes to steam a pot of mussels. The amount of liquid needed will, of course, depend on the size of the pot you are using and how many mussels you are steaming at a time. Remember to discard any shells that have not opened during the steaming process – do not pry them open. If they haven’t opened via the steaming process, they are not considered safe for consumption.
Dip the mussels in good PEI-churned butter (I’m using ADL butter today) and they are simply delicious. Some also like to use the steaming broth in which to dip bread, soaking up the flavors. My recipe for steamed mussels follows at the end of this posting.
The bread on the table today is a multigrain bread that has a lovely dense texture and exceptionally good flavour. It makes a fine accompaniment to the steamed mussels.
Products and Sources: Sea Scallops, fished off East Point, PEI, sourced from MR Seafoods, Charlottetown, PEI
Potatoes – Farm of Brent Craig, Tryon, PEI
Vegetables – Jewel’s Country Market, Marshfield, PEI
Scallops have long been a favourite of mine. Today’s scallops were fished off of East Point in the Eastern end of the Island and were sourced through MR Seafoods in Charlottetown. While there are a host of ways in which sea scallops can be prepared, sometimes I like them simply pan-seared in butter which is how I am serving them today – sear 1½ – 2 minutes on each side, in a hot pan with butter, and this is a quick, easy, simple, and tasty way to prepare scallops.
Add a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley and serve with a lemon wedge or your favourite tartar sauce, if desired.
With the early PEI potatoes now on the market, they were a logical choice to serve with the scallops. Just a slather of butter is all that is needed for these! The round white Island spuds come from the farm of Brent Craig of Tryon.
And here is the complete main course, all products of PEI.
This time of the year, there are so many fresh-from-the-garden veggies available. I chose the yellow-orange-green color scheme to add color to the plate: yellow string beans, carrots, and broccoli, which came from Jewel’s Country Market in Marshfield, PEI.
Product: Haskap berries – Farm of Lynn and Becky Townshend, Rollo Bay, PEI
For dessert, I headed east to Rollo Bay for haskap berries to make a rich and sumptuous haskap shortcake. I recently shared my recipe for this delightful dessert and you can find the recipe by clicking here.
My wine of choice for my meal is a Chardonnay that comes from Newman Estate Winery in Gladstone, near Murray River in the Eastern part of PEI. Click here to read the story I previously wrote about my visit to this winery.
It’s so easy to prepare a tasty meal when local foods are sourced. The ingredients are super fresh because they haven’t traveled many miles for many days before they reach the dinner plate.
What’s on your menu to celebrate Food Day Canada today?
1 cup Gahan’s Sir John A’s Honey Wheat Ale [2021 Update: Note that this beer is expected to undergo a branding name change shortly]
½ cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp carrots, diced
2 tbsp celery, diced + some celery leaves
½ tsp puréed garlic
⅛ tsp coriander
⅛ tsp fennel
⅛ tsp thyme
⅛ tsp basil
½ tsp parsley
1 lb PEI mussels
Assemble ingredients.
In 5-litre pot, place all ingredients, except the mussels.
Bring mixture to a boil and boil gently over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes.
Add mussels.
Increase heat to medium. Cover. Let steam for 7-10 minutes until shells have opened.
Scoop mussels into serving bowl(s). Serve hot with melted butter and your favourite bread which may also be dipped into the steaming broth that was used to steam the mussels.
Yield: 2 appetizer-sized servings.
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
Hot, lazy days of summer always send me off looking for thirst-quenching cold drinks.
One of my favorites is old-fashioned homemade lemonade. It’s cool and refreshing.
Making the concentrate for the lemonade is really easy and I think it tastes ever-so-much better than bought lemonade.
Ingredients:
1 cup water
¾ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (apx 3-4 lemons), strained
1-2 tbsp grated lemon rind
Lemon-flavored sparkling water to top up
Method:
Squeeze lemons and strain juice.
Assemble ingredients.
Boil water and sugar for 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat and cool for apx. 30 minutes.
Add lemon juice and grated lemon rind. Stir. Let sit at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours to allow flavour to strengthen.
Strain lemon rind from concentrate.
Pour into bottle.
To serve: Pour ½ to ⅔ cup of lemon concentrate into tall glass and top up with lemon-flavored sparkling water.
Add ice cubes or crushed ice if desired and decorate with a sprig of mint and a slice or two of lemon.
Keep concentrate refrigerated.
Yield: Apx. 2 cups
Lemonade is a very versatile drink – it’s great for picnics, sitting on the front porch, at afternoon tea, at the beach, or anywhere for that matter.
Is lemonade part of your summer?
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
It’s not often that I discover a new food on Prince Edward Island. Until recently, I had never heard of haskap berries and did not know that they were grown on PEI. Earlier this month, I travelled to Rollo Bay in the Eastern end of the Island to view a five-acre field of haskap bushes and to have a chat with the growers.
Mother and daughter duo, Lynn and Becky Townshend, began growing 2500 haskap bushes five years ago. Haskap bushes are very hardy and can withstand cold winter temperatures. They are also fast-growing and, once established, are one of the season’s earliest plants to bear fruit.
Before meeting the Townshends, I did a little research on the elongated-shaped berries which are the color of blueberries. I imagined they would grow on a low bush and, because they somewhat resemble blueberries, thought they would taste something like traditional blueberries. However, that is not the case. Their color is where I find the similarity with blueberries ends. They grow on high bushes like the ones in the photograph below. These are five-year old bushes and they range in height probably between about 3-5 feet.
Haskaps have their origin in Siberia and are also found in Russia, Japan, and China. A few years ago, Dr. Bob Bors at the University of Saskatchewan developed the haskaps for commercial production. Haskaps are a member of the honeysuckle family and are sometimes referred to as honeyberries.
The Townshends grow four varieties of haskaps -Indigo Gem, Indigo Treat, Tundra, and Borealis. Some varieties are sweeter than others but, for the most part, I would class these berries as tart and they would not be ones I would be likely to eat in a bowl with milk and sugar as I would, say, blueberries or strawberries. Raw, according to my tastebuds, I would suggest the haskaps most closely resemble Concord grapes in flavour while cooked or baked, they are (in my opinion) perhaps closest to black currants.
Picking the berries is a tedious and time-consuming task. At present, there is no mechanical harvester available (at least locally) for haskaps which means they must all be picked by hand.
As Becky says, “they’re devils to pick”! This is because the berries grow in through the branches and leaves on the bushes and the branches have to be moved away from the plant to reveal the berries.
This labour-intensive task is what keeps the price of the berries high. At time of writing, Riverview Country Market in Charlottetown sells pint boxes of haskaps for $6.00 each.
So, what can you do with haskaps? They make a great syrup or sauce for pancakes, waffles, French toast, or over ice cream or as the sauce for a shortcake. They can be used in baked goods, alone or in combination with other fruits such as raspberries or blackberries (I find they pair really well with raspberry – the flavors blend together well). They are suitable for pies, muffins, and baked puddings as well as for jam. Haskap berries also freeze well for later use. Essentially, you could use haskaps in the same manner in which you would use blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
The recipe I have chosen to share today using haskaps is for a rich sauce. Adding a mere teaspoon of a high quality raspberry balsamic vinegar and just a dash of cardamom gives additional complexity and flavour to this sauce. This sauce is particularly good in Haskap Shortcake.
Ingredients:
1 cup haskap berries, fresh or frozen
½ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)
dash cardamom
1 tsp raspberry balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp water
1-2 tsp cornstarch
Method:
Place haskaps, sugar, cardamom, and raspberry balsamic vinegar in small bowl. Stir gently to release juice from berries. Do not break up berries. Let sit for 3-4 hours at room temperature (can be placed in covered bowl in refrigerator for up to 24 hours) to allow sugar to begin to naturally dissolve and for the flavors of the berries, balsamic vinegar, and cardamom to blend.
Transfer berries to saucepan and add about 1 tsp water or so, just enough so that the berries and sugar do not scorch (do not add too much water as the sauce will be too runny). Over medium-low heat, cook berries, stirring gently, just until mixture starts to boil.
In small cup, combine 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 teaspoon water to make paste. Temper with about 1 tablespoon of hot berry mixture then stir into berry mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture thickens to desired consistency. Note: It may be necessary to add more cornstarch to reach desired thickness – repeat preceding procedure to mix in any additional cornstarch needed. Remove from heat and let cool. Store sauce in covered bottle in refrigerator for up to one week.
Yield: about ¾ cup
Serving Suggestion: Serve sauce over pancakes, French toast, waffles or ice cream. May also be used as a sauce for shortcake.
To make Hascap Shortcake, use your favorite sponge cake or biscuits. Split cake or biscuit in half. On bottom half, pipe a border of whipped cream around edge of cake or biscuit to form a dam to hold the sauce. In center of whipped cream border, add about 1 tablespoon of hascap sauce.
Place top of cake or biscuit over whipped cream and sauce. Drizzle more hascap sauce over top and add a dollop of whipped cream.
And, here is the finished product….
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook.
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro.
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”.
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”.
There is nothing more plain yet more tasty, in my opinion, than a good old-fashioned brownie. One of the best things about brownies is that they don’t take any ingredients that most bakers are unlikely to have in their cupboards. That means they can be whipped up fairly quickly without a lot of advance planning and a trip to the supermarket. They can also be eaten plain or dolled up with a dob of icing and a piece of maraschino cherry or they can be iced all over. Continue reading Old-fashioned Brownies – A Perennial Favorite
