Sangria is really nothing more than a wine punch. It is typically associated with Spain, Portugal, and Mexico but is also popular now in other areas of the world as well, particularly as a summer time drink. While it can be made with white or rosé wines, classic sangria is made with red wine. A small amount of brandy is also a common ingredient. Chopped fruit — often citrus — is also a usual ingredient and what you add to it basically consists of what you have available. Lemonade or orange juice can also be added and the addition of a sweetener, such as sugar or honey, is included in the list of ingredients, too. These ingredients get mixed together and left for an hour or two to allow the flavours to blend. Sangria can be drunk without the addition of a carbonated soda but adding lemon-lime soda, Sprite, 7-Up, or gingerale, certainly adds fizz and spark to the drink and I think makes it more refreshing.
Sangria – A Refreshing Summer Drink
Mix the sangria in a lovely glass pitcher so that you can enjoy the deep burgundy-red color of the drink as well as the mixture of fruits floating in the punch. I like to serve this beverage over ice in tall pedestal flutes.
Glass of Island Sangria
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Pour wine, orange juice, and brandy in to a glass pitcher. Add sugar and salt. Stir.
Add chopped fruit. Let stand for at least an hour at room temperature to let flavours blend. Then, refrigerate for 30-60 minutes to cool. Add the carbonated soda at time of serving. Serve over ice in pedestal flutes. Enjoy!
Over the years, many Island homes, particularly those in the country (including mine) have had (and many still do) a rhubarb patch. The tiny shoots of the perennial rhubarb plants poking through the earth are always considered a harbinger of Spring and a welcome one at that. After many long Winter months in Northeastern Canada, it’s always good to see this sign of life in the corner of the garden. In fact, some local groups on PEI host fund-raising “Rhubarb Socials” each June at which they serve desserts made with rhubarb so it appears the lowly rhubarb has gained some social status!
Rhubarb Signifies Spring
A number of years ago, I suggested planting a rhubarb crown (rhizomes) in the corner of our cottage garden. The idea was not met with grand enthusiasm but, nonetheless, I went to the garden center and landed home with two rhubarb crowns which did get planted (I knew they would once they were onsite!). Well, now that rhubarb is just the greatest thing ever planted! It grew alright – in fact, we now have more of a rhubarb “bush” than a patch! Some stalks are about 18” tall. Local supermarkets are currently selling rhubarb for $3.99/lb (Cdn $). In fact, I saw some at a local farm stand last Saturday where they were selling for $4.95 and they were not overly fresh either. Sometimes, we take for granted the value of what we have in our backyard gardens. In fact, in Spring 2011, I planted two rhubarb crowns in the backyard of my suburban home. I’m pleased to say they are doing very well – long, strong stalks (ribs) with huge triangular-shaped leaves. I can’t remove any stalks from these plants this year but, next year, I can harvest one-third of the produce and, the following year, as much as is available since the rhubarb will be well established by then.
In PEI, we harvest rhubarb from early-mid May until mid-June. Harvest when stalks are long and still slender as thicker stalks tend to be older and, therefore, tougher and more stringy. To harvest, grasp the rhubarb stalk down close to its root base and give it a good tug to pull it out of the ground. Immediately cut off and discard the bottom whitish part of each stalk. The early Spring stalks are the most tender and yield greater juiciness.
If you are buying rhubarb at a farm market or grocery store, look for stalks that look dry, have crispness to them and are not limp, soft, wilted, or showing signs of turning brown at the ends.
Rhubarb is available in many varieties and shades of color that range from green to stalks that are red-green speckled or graduated in color from red to green, to deep crimson red. When purchasing a rhubarb crown for your garden or when buying rhubarb stalks, I recommend looking for varieties that have a deep red color. They will have the most flavour and give the richest pink color to recipes. Stalks that are primarily green are less flavourful and do not add appealing color to culinary dishes. As a rough, general guideline, 1 pound of raw rhubarb will yield approximately 4 cups chopped.
There has long been a debate over whether rhubarb is a fruit or a vegetable. It is often referred to as the “pie plant” because one of the most common and recognizable uses of it is in rhubarb pie and we tend to think of dessert pies as being made with fruit, not vegetables. Rhubarb is generally considered to be a vegetable notwithstanding that, in 1947, a New York court decided that, since it was primarily used as fruit in the US, rhubarb would be considered a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. So, while rhubarb is often treated as a fruit in many culinary dishes, botanically and by general consensus, it appears to be more accepted as a vegetable.
Regardless whether it is a fruit or a vegetable (we’ll leave that to botanists and other scientists to make the definitive call on that), it is a very versatile ingredient in many recipes. From jams, marmalades, sauces, chutneys, and drinks to pies, tortes, puddings, muffins, and ice cream, there are an endless number of recipes in which to use rhubarb. While I don’t fancy it raw, it is not uncommon to find our young glasscutter hopping off the mower to head over to our rhubarb patch to grab a rhubarb stalk to snack on! Guess he must like the sour, tart taste better than I do!
Rhubarb freezes very well and we freeze a number of bags each Spring. Chopped and frozen in recipe-specific portions and labelled accordingly, rhubarb is then available to us year-round to use in our favourite recipes.
From a nutritional standpoint, rhubarb is a source of Vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and dietary fibre. Because rhubarb largely consists of water (one source claims it is 95% water), it has no cholesterol, fat, or sodium. However, because rhubarb is so tart, it needs sweetening so, adding other ingredients such as sugar, or combining it with fruits such as strawberries, apples, etc., will obviously alter the cholesterol, fat, and/or sodium content of the dish you make using rhubarb.
I have a multitude of favourite rhubarb recipes but one of my all-time favourites is this Rhubarb Marmalade (recipe follows). Combined with three citrus fruits, it has a tart, fresh taste and, best of all, it is the first of my jamming and preserving processes of the season. I use this rich-colored and flavourful marmalade on toast, biscuits, scones, and I particularly like a dollop of it on a warm cream custard.
Time to bring out the jam pots and bottles and capture some of this Springtime goodness before the rhubarb gets too old and tough to use. If you do try this recipe, please be sure to leave me a comment about your impressions of it.
Jamming and preserving season is officially underway!
Rhubarb Marmalade
Rhubarb Marmalade
Ingredients:
8 cups rhubarb, thinly sliced into pieces between 1/8″ and 1/4″ thick) 4¼ cups sugar 1 large orange (or 1½ small oranges) ½ pink grapefruit ½ small lemon
Method:
Chop rhubarb into thin slices. Set aside.
Wash the orange, grapefruit, and lemon well.
Peel orange, grapefruit, and lemon. Chop the pulp, remove and discard any seeds, and place pulp in bowl. Scrape the pith from the fruit peelings and discard. Chop the peel into small pieces. Set aside.
In a large pot, place the rhubarb and sugar. Add the citrus pulp and peel. Bring to a boil over medium high temperature, stirring to prevent scorching. Immediately lower the temperature and cook, uncovered, at a slow gentle boil until mixture thickens and reaches a sustained temperature of 217°F on a candy thermometer (see Note 1 below for alternative testing method). Stir mixture regularly to prevent scorching. Be patient, this can take an hour or so.
Rhubarb Marmalade Ingredients
While the marmalade is cooking, fill a large pot of water, about ¾ full. Place 7 half-pint 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. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the jars in the hot water while the marmalade finishes cooking.
Meanwhile, fill the canner about one-third to one-half full of water. Cover and bring to a boil to have it ready for the filled jars.
When the marmalade is cooked, use a jar lifter to remove the hot jars from the water. Using a canning funnel, pour marmalade into sterilized jars, leaving about ¼” headroom in each jar. Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth. Seal jars with heated lids and fingertip-tightened ring bands.
Place jars in hot water bath wire basket, ensuring jars do not touch each other or fall over. Carefully lower basket into canner of hot water. 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 rolling boil then decrease the heat to just keep the water at a rolling boil but not boiling over. Process half-pint jars in the hot water bath for 10 minutes, adjusting time for altitude. Start timing the processing from the point where a full rolling boil is reached after basket of jars has been added to the canner. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove canner lid. Wait 4-5 minutes, until the water stops boiling then, using a jar lifter, carefully remove the jars, one at a time, and transfer them to a wire rack 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 wire rack for 12 hours. Store in cool, dark place. Refrigerate marmalade once opened.
Boiling the Marmalade
Yield: Apx. 7 half-pint jars
NOTE 1: If you don’t have a candy thermometer, place 2-3 freezer-safe saucers in freezer. To test for doneness of the marmalade, place a small amount of marmalade on chilled saucer and swirl saucer around. Let marmalade sit, untouched, for about a minute, then gently push your finger through the marmalade. If the marmalade holds its shape (i.e., does not immediately run back together after the finger has been removed from the marmalade), it is set and ready to bottle. If not, continue to cook mixture, repeating the “chill” test about every 3 minutes or so (always removing the pot from the heat while conducting the chill test) until the marmalade passes the “chill” test. Do not overcook as it will result in a very thick marmalade, dark in color.
Note 2: After jars have completely cooled, if there are any on which the lids have not curved downward, refrigerate them and use within one month.
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My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Maple Syrup Baked Beans
Growing up, Baked Beans was a traditional Saturday night supper in our household. While I haven’t continued the Saturday night tradition, I do frequently have Baked Beans on the menu.
Baked Beans make a very economical dish and freeze well for reheating later in the microwave. These are a staple packaged in meal-portion sized dishes in my freezer. I will make up a large batch and then divide them into serving sized containers that will freeze well. I serve Baked Beans with homemade bread and molasses and mustard pickles and sometimes tomato chow. When prepared ahead, they make a quick and nutritious meal.
We know beans are a good source of fiber and protein so they are good for our diet. Making your own homemade beans is not difficult although it is a somewhat lengthy process: The beans have to be soaked in water overnight, pre-cooked for about an hour or so, then baked in the oven for about 3 hours. The bonus of homemade beans, however, is that they taste so much better than canned beans off the store shelf.
I like to use yellow-eye beans as I find they cook well and are not hard as I find dark beans to be. My grandmother always grew the dark beans solely for the purpose of drying them and using them to make baked beans. I always found the beans to be very hard despite that she would have baked them in a bean crock in the wood stove oven for hours and hours.
Soaking the dried beans accomplishes three things:
1) It softens the beans and lessens the cooking and baking times (the beans also expand to double or triple their size in the soaking process);
2) It allows the beans to absorb the liquid (become rehydrated) thus they will cook more evenly and hold their shape when baked (i.e., they won’t split open or become mushy)
3) It removes the indigestible complex sugars, making the beans easier to digest.
The jury is still out on adding a small amount of baking soda to the cooking process of the beans. Some say doing so will make the beans more tender, particularly if the water is hard. Others claim the soda may also aid in digesting the beans while others subscribe to the theory that the baking soda does nothing for the beans. My mother always added the baking soda to the beans and I continue the practice of adding 1/2 tsp of baking soda when cooking beans. I figure 1/2 tsp will not harm the beans and, if it does do some good, so much the better.
Beans, on their own with no seasonings, can be very bland and tasteless. I don’t think my grandmother added much to her baked beans other than some molasses, brown sugar, and water. My mother always added some onion and ground mustard along with molasses, brown sugar, and water but very little else. I like to gently spice the beans up a bit and, over the years, have perfected a recipe that suits my taste.
When an ingredient calls for a “dash”, I use an actual measuring spoon that has the “dash” as a measurement. Spices, and the amount added, are very much a personal preference so each cook should adjust them to his or her own tastes. My recommendation, of course, is to make the recipe the first time using the measurements called for and then decide what needs to be adjusted for the next time. As well, if there is a particular spice that you absolutely do not like, simply omit it. The recipe that I have developed does not use large amounts of any one spice. I did this because I still wanted the original bean taste and didn’t want any particular spice to overpower the natural taste of a traditional baked beans dish.
Some like to add salt pork, regular bacon, or cut-up weiners to the baked beans. I prefer just the beans but that is a personal preference and meats can certainly be added, if desired.
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Maple Syrup Baked Beans
Ingredients:
1 pound yellow-eye beans
4 cups cold water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp garlic purée
dash cayenne pepper
dash ground ginger
dash chili powder
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp liquid chicken bouillon
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp barbeque sauce
1 – 1 1/2 tbsp rum (optional)
1/3 cup onion, chopped
3 cups reserved liquid from cooked beans
Method:
Place beans in large bowl. Add enough cold water to completely cover the beans. Cover. Soak overnight.
Soaking the Dried Beans
Drain soaked beans in colander. Discard water. Place beans in large pot and add 4 cups fresh cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add 1/2 tsp baking soda. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally and fork-testing beans for doneness. Beans should still be firm but not hard when cooked. Do not overcook or beans will become mushy and lose their shape.
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Drain the beans in large colander, reserving the liquid. Set liquid aside. Rinse the beans with cold water. Place beans in 2-quart casserole or small roaster pan. Add remaining ingredients and 3 cups of the reserved liquid. Stir gently until well combined.
Ingredients for Maple Syrup Baked Beans
Bake, covered, for about 3 hours or until beans are fork-tender. Check beans 2-3 times during baking to stir and add more liquid if needed.
My Island Bistro Kitchen's Maple Syrup Baked Beans
Rich, gently-spiced homemade baked beans. A fine Maritime Canada traditional meal.
Course Main Course
Keyword baked beans, beans
My Island Bistro KitchenBarbara99
Ingredients
1poundyellow-eye beans
4cupscold water
½tspbaking soda
½tspgarlic purée
dash cayenne pepper
dash ground ginger
dash chili powder
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1tspground mustard
1tspliquid chicken bouillon
3tbsptomato paste
1tbspcider vinegar
1/3cuppure maple syrup
½cupmolasses
¼cupbrown sugar
2tbspbarbeque sauce
1– 1½ tbsp rum (optional)
1/3cuponion chopped
3cupsreserved liquid from cooked beans
Instructions
Place beans in large bowl. Add enough cold water to completely cover the beans. Cover. Soak overnight.
Drain soaked beans in colander. Discard water. Place beans in large pot and add 4 cups fresh cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add 1/2 tsp baking soda. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally and fork-testing beans for doneness. Beans should still be firm but not hard when cooked. Do not overcook or beans will become mushy and lose their shape.
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Drain the beans in large colander, reserving the liquid. Set liquid aside. Rinse the beans with cold water. Place beans in 2-quart casserole or small roaster pan. Add remaining ingredients and 3 cups of the reserved liquid. Stir gently until well combined.
Bake, covered, for about 3 hours or until beans are fork-tender. Check beans 2-3 times during baking to stir and add more liquid if needed.
This is my favorite Macaroni and Cheese recipe. It uses the fine cheddar cheeses produced right here on Prince Edward Island at the COWS Creamery.
My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Macaroni and Cheese
When I think of “comfort food”, one of the first that comes to mind is Macaroni and Cheese. So simple to make and it does not take any wild or unusual ingredients.
My preference of cheese for this dish is that made by COWS Creamery right here in PEI, actually not far from where I reside. Their cheeses have been award winners for years now, attesting to their fine quality made, of course, possible by the high quality herds of dairy cattle here on the Island.
While I have made and tested this recipe with other cheeses and have found the results to be very good, no question. However, if you have ever had it made with COWS Creamery Extra Old Cheddar Cheese, and their Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar Cheese, I suspect you will agree with me that these two cheeses take Macaroni and Cheese to a higher level.
I serve Macaroni and Cheese (which freezes well, by the way) with a green salad and homemade biscuits, fresh from the oven and slathered with good PEI churned butter. (This is not a sponsored post, by the way, and I don’t work for, or have shares in, COWS Creamery, nor have I been paid for this post. I just simply really like their products.)
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Macaroni and Cheese
My Island Bistro Kitchen's Macaroni and Cheese
By Barbara99 Published: March 28, 2012
Yield:4-5 Servings
Prep:25 mins
Cook:30 mins
Ready In:55 mins
A rich, flavorful macaroni and cheese dish using Cows Creamery Cheddar Cheese
In large pot, bring water to boil. Add salt, oil, liquid chicken bouillon, garlic, and macaroni. (I like to add some garlic and chicken bouillon to the water so it will flavor the pasta when it is cooking. This provides a subtle taste without overpowering or competing with the cheese which would be the case if the ingredients were added into the cheese sauce.)
Cook macaroni, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent macaroni from sticking to pot. Drain in colander. Return macaroni to pot.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add milk. Combine flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and dry mustard. Whisk into milk and butter mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and starts to thicken.
Add cheeses and stir until melted and blended
Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir until well combined. Turn into a greased 2-quart casserole or divide into greased ramekin dishes for individual servings.
Bake, uncovered, in 350F oven for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with a green salad and fresh homemade biscuits.
I recently paid a visit to Cows Creamery at its factory location on the outskirts of Charlottetown, PEI, where I was met by my two tour guides, Yvonne and Andrea. As I soon learned, Cows is a whole lot more than its renowned premium quality ice cream.
With humble beginnings back in 1983, Cows has evolved into a large diversified operation that produces, along with its iconic ice cream, three varieties of cheddar cheese as well as its newest dairy product, creamery butter. You’ll also find this company producing several food items such as chocolate-covered potato chips plus a line of novelty items (including its whimsical cow-inspired clothing line). For the purposes of this field trip, however, my focus was on the dairy side of Cows’ operations.
Cows Ice Cream
"Wowie Cowie" Ice Cream at Cows Creamery
Cows began producing and selling one variety of ice cream (vanilla) on the Cavendish Boardwalk in 1983. It wasn’t long before customers soon started associating Cows with premium-quality ice cream. A short while later, Cows opened their first ice cream shop in downtown Charlottetown and you can still find it there on the corner of Queen and Grafton Streets, just across from the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Cows Ice Cream Shop in Downtown Charlottetown, PEI
Over the years, Cows added and operated, on a seasonal basis, several more outlets – Peakes Wharf in Charlottetown, Gateway Village at the foot of the Confederation Bridge in Borden-Carleton, and on “The Confederation” ferry that runs, May-October, between PEI and NS. Of course, their new creamery near Charlottetown also sells ice cream year-round in the retain outlet. Cows has also added several off-Island locations that include Historic Properties in Halifax, NS; Whistler, BC; Banff, AB; and Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON.
Today, Cows produces some 32 flavours (yes, 32!) of high-end premium ice cream with catchy names like my favourite, “Wowie Cowie”. All the ice cream is made in their PEI creamery using milk produced on PEI dairy farms and as many locally-produced ingredients (e.g., berries) as possible.
Cows Ice Cream Production Room
The ice cream is then shipped to their various retail outlets in PEI and across the country.
Cows Ice Cream - Prince Edward Island
On the day of my late afternoon March visit, the ice cream operation was not in production mode. However, their retail outlet was selling the delectable ice cream! Cows ice cream is served in their tasty signature waffle cones that are hand-made in each store. One bite and you know this is no ordinary ice cream cone. It is so good that it could almost be described as a specialized dessert crisp cookie in and of itself! The silky smooth ice cream holds its shape in the cone and does not melt too quickly like other brands made with less premium quality ingredients.
Single scoop (waffle cone included) is competitively priced at $3.75 + tax (at time of writing in March 2012) with other high-end ice creams.
The best way I can describe Cows ice cream is that it’s an experience unto itself, right down to the tip of the cone! For me, Cows ice cream is the benchmark against which all other ice creams get rated and I’ve found no other commercial brand to date that tops it. Just a word of caution, though, their ice cream is downright addictive!
Cheddar Cheese
Cows Cheese
Cows Creamery expanded its production line in 2006 when it started making cheddar cheese. Today, their cheese line includes three varieties: Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar (the strongest and most robust of the three); Cows Creamery Extra Old Cheddar, and Cows Creamery Applewood Smoked 2 Year Old Cheddar.
Cows Creamery Extra Old Cheddar and Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar
Just as with their ice cream, Cows makes their cheese using milk that comes from small rural local dairy farms around PEI. Not only does this mean they are using fresh, quality ingredients but they are also supporting local dairy producers. The cheeses are made using the English method and, in fact, my tour guides told me their recipe has its roots in the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland. The cheeses are all-natural products made from unpasteurized milk with no color added. So, if your vision is of a bright orange cheese, you won’t find that at Cows. What you will find, though, is a natural-colored cheese with full-bodied authentic cheese flavour.
I must admit I have never been a fan of old cheese, preferring instead the much more subtle flavours offered by mild and, on occasion, medium cheeses. I was somewhat reluctant to try Cows cheese for the reason that other “old” cheese varieties I have tried in the past always tasted stale to me and had what I can only describe as a distasteful flavour. However, lesson learned – never be afraid to try new things and discover how accepting your palette might be to new and different tastes. Cows’ cheeses are indeed good. So good, in fact, the cheeses have already won several prestigious awards in Canada and the US. Manufactured at their Charlottetown Creamery, the 20-pound cheese wheels are shipped to distributors all over North America. Look, or ask for, Cows cheeses in local specialty cheese shops, farm markets, or grocery deli counters in your area. On PEI, Cows’ pre-packaged cheese can be found at local supermarkets, at the Farmers Market in Charlottetown and, of course, in the retail outlet of the Cows Creamery near Charlottetown, PEI.
I asked my tour guides what the primary intended uses of these cheeses would be since they only manufacture old cheese varieties – i.e., are they meant for snacking cheeses, cooking, etc. They suggested that the cheeses can simply be eaten on their own or used in salads, soups, casseroles, on burgers, or in grilled cheese sandwiches so these are very versatile products.
As per my usual practice when I visit a local producer, I like to take their product and use it in a recipe. I decided I’d put Cows cheeses to the real test and make “Mac ‘n Cheese” (recipe follows at end of this blog). The reason I chose Mac ‘n Cheese is because the pasta (a rather tasteless food item on its own) would not compete in taste with the cheese. This would allow the cheese to “star” without being masked by other strong flavours and I would find out if I liked Cows old cheddar. What I did was use 1 cup each of Cows Creamery Extra Old Cheddar and Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. Well! Let’s just say, I can probably never be satisfied with Mac ‘n Cheese made with any other cheese in the future! The result was a rich, full-bodied cheese-flavoured Mac ‘n Cheese experience. As mentioned above, Cows cheeses are naturally colored which means they are a very pale neutral (yellowish) color so, if you are accustomed to seeing a rich orange-colored macaroni dish, this will not give you that. However, I think you’ll find the robust, true cheese flavour will more than make up for any lack of deep color.
Creamery Butter
Cows Sea-Salted Creamery Butter
In the summer of 2011, Cows introduced their newest product — butter sold in ½-pound packages and available unsalted or sea-salted. Just as with their ice cream and cheese products, their butter is of premium quality with 84% butter fat versus 80% found in regular butters. I have tried the sea-salted and it is one fine butter…particularly spread on fresh buttermilk biscuits straight out of the oven!
Cows Creamery Butter can be purchased on PEI at the Cows Creamery in Charlottetown as well as at the Co-op on Walker Avenue. Off-Island, it can be found at Pete’s Frootique in Halifax and Bedford, NS, as well as in various stores in Ontario and in the Vancouver, BC, area.
Novelty Items
Cows Whimsical T-Shirts
In 1985, Cows introduced a whimsical line of clothing for their staff to wear. They soon discovered that customers wanted to buy the staff clothing! As a result, Cows began selling T-shirts and sweatshirts that bore images based on puns related to cows or farming. This line has expanded to include a whole line of souvenir items and clothing.
Cows’ logo and images are very unique and recognizable. In fact, a few years ago, I was strolling down a very crowded street in Freeport, ME, when I came upon a couple sporting Cows T-shirts – you can identify these T-shirts in a crowd anywhere!
Cows Advertisement at the Charlottetown Airport
Visitors arriving on PEI by air can expect to find, as they step into the terminal at the Charlottetown Airport, a large statue of a black and white shiny cow advertising “Cows” products. Particularly during peak tourism season, it is not uncommon to find people posing for photographs with the cow as the backdrop. This is probably the most photographed cow on PEI (or anywhere, for that matter)!
Factory Tours
Cows opened their new creamery facility just outside Charlottetown in 2009. They offer tours that start with a video in their theatre room, followed by a stop by the T-shirt printing shop where you can watch the Cows images being transferred on to clothing. Your next stop on the tour will take you by the infamous ice cream making room where you can watch this delectable treat being made. From there, you’ll see the large wheels of cheese undergoing the aging process. The last stop on the tour would, no doubt, be a huge hit – the tasting room where you’ll sample the ice cream made on the premises. Tour prices (as of March 2012) are: Adults $6.00; Children $4.00; and Children Under 2 years of age are admitted free. The tours run May 15 – October 15 and are available off-season by appointment only.
PEI has no shortage of good quality locally-produced food products available. The great thing about Cows Creamery products (apart from their obvious high quality) is that they are produced right here on Prince Edward Island. As a home kitchen chef and food blogger, I have a lot of time and respect for companies, such as Cows, that use local products in their manufacturing and, in turn, support local producers. As anyone who knows me well will attest, I like to use the freshest ingredients possible and premium-quality products in my cooking and baking. It doesn’t get any fresher than buying from local producers and manufacturers.
My Island Bistro Kitchen's Macaroni and Cheese
By Barbara99 Published: March 21, 2012
Yield:4-5 Servings
Prep:25 mins
Cook:30 mins
Ready In:55 mins
A rich, flavorful macaroni and cheese dish using Cows Creamery Cheese
In large pot, bring water to boil. Add salt, oil, liquid bouillon, garlic, and macaroni. I like to add some garlic and chicken bouillon to the water so it will flavor the pasta when it is cooking. This provides a subtle taste without overpowering or competing with the cheese which would be the case if the ingredients were added into the cheese sauce. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent macaroni from sticking to pot. Drain in colander. Return macaroni to pot.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add milk. Combine flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and dry mustard. Whisk into milk and butter mixture. Cook over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken.
Add cheeses and stir until melted and blended.
Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir until well combined. Turn into a greased 2-quart casserole or divide into greased ramekin dishes for individual servings. Bake, uncovered, in 350F oven for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with a fresh green salad and homemade biscuits.
Growing up in PEI, it was customary in our home to always have at least one “feed” of smelts sometime during the winter.
Smelts are a winter catch and, therefore, a winter meal in many households on PEI. Sport fishers set up camp on the frozen waterways around the Island. By setting up camp, I mean they haul little buildings, locally referred to as “smelt shacks” out onto the ice. It is from the ‘comfort’ of these tiny rustic shelters that they fish for smelts, typically using spears or nets, to catch the tiny fish below the ice surface. These fish are tiny, in general, measuring about 5 ”- 7” long. Continue reading Smelts – A Prince Edward Island Winter Meal→
(Mostly) PEI and Maritime Food – Good Food for a Good Life!
Melt butter in saucepan. Add milk. Combine flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and dry mustard. Whisk into milk and butter mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and starts to thicken.
Add cheeses and stir until melted and blended
Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir until well combined. Turn into a greased 2-quart casserole or divide into greased ramekin dishes for individual servings.
