AUTUMN
Recipes using Carrot Greens
Queso Fundido
This melted cheese dip is a huge hit at parties.
¼ cup unroasted pumpkin seeds
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
4 tomatillos
the leafy tops of 4 organic carrots (try not to use too much stem)
8 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 small jalapeno chile
¼ cup vegetable stock
salt to taste, if desired
200g jack cheese
Place unpeeled garlic cloves in a small ovenproof dish and pour 1 Tbsp of olive oil over them. Sprinkle with dried oregano and roast at about 300ºF for 45 minutes to an hour, or until very soft. When done cool and squeeze the soft flesh out of the skins.
Skewer the jalapeno pepper with a fork and roast it over a medium burner until the skin starts to blister. Place in a dish and cover with a teatowel until cool; then with a sharp knife remove the skin and seeds.
Put pumpkin seeds in a cast iron pan and heat over a medium flame until they start to pop. In a food processor, combine seeds with roasted garlic, tomatillos, carrot leaves, cilantro, roasted jalapeno, stock and salt if desired. Puree to a paste.
Cut the cheese into slices and place in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the pumpkin seed-paste over and around the cheese and pour the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil over top. Cook at about 400ºF for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Stir to mix the pesto into the cheese and serve with tortilla chips.
Carrot Green, Parsley & Hazelnut Pesto for Pasta
¾ cup hazelnuts (or mixture of hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts)
1/8 cup organic carrot leaves, chopped
1/8 cup organic parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
¼-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese
generous pinch of sea salt
Toast the nuts at 325ºF for a few minutes to bring out the flavour. In a food processor, puree the nuts, carrot leaves, parsley leaves, lemon juice and garlic. Pour in cheese, salt, and olive oil, starting with ¼ cup. Blend, and increase olive oil if the pesto is too thick. Cook pasta (450g) until al dente, drain and toss with pesto while still hot.
*Excellent with a few handfuls of cooked pole beans thrown in as you toss with the pesto.
SUMMER
Frances' Secret Lavender
Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Lynda Dowling,
Makes approximately 3 dozen
½ cup real butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp dried sweet lavender flowers
(or 3-4 Tbsp fresh flowers)
1 large egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal
1 ½ cups white flour
¾ tsp baking powder
1 generous cup good chocolate chips
In a bowl blend butter, sugar and lavender until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla.
In a second bowl, mix oatmeal, flour and baking powder. Add chocolate chips to this dry mix.
Blend both mixes together to form soft dough. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour.
Drop by teaspoons onto baking tray. Bake at 350° F, 10 minutes for soft cookies or 15 minutes for crisp ones.
Variations:
Add 3 or 4 pieces of crystallized ginger, finely chopped OR the grated
zest of one orange, OR 1 cup nuts, raisins, coconut or dried sweetened
cranberries. For a chocolate dough base, add ½ cup of cocoa powder in
with flour and sugar, and decrease the chocolate chip amount slightly.
Fried Green Tomatoes
from Andrew Bose
6 green tomatoes, washed, stem and core removed
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups buttermilk
3 cups yellow corn flour*
2 cups canola oil for frying
Slice tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices.
Lay tomato slices on a baking sheet and season well with salt and pepper.
Taking one slice at a time, dredge both sides first in flour, then dip in buttermilk, then dredge in corn flour.
Refrigerate breaded tomato slices for a minimum of one hour, giving the coating a chance to solidify.
Fill a heavy-bottomed skillet with enough oil to come up to the top of the sides of each tomato slice. Heat over a medium burner and fry each side until golden brown, being careful not to splash the oil when flipping the tomato slice. Remove to a platter lined with paper towels. Eat immediately.
*if corn flour is not available, substitute 2¼ cups cornmeal mixed with ¾ cup all-purpose flour.
 Green Tomato Mincemeat
from Andrew Bose
Great for small tarts or served warm on vanilla ice cream.
1 ⅓ cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
½ cup roughly chopped green tomatoes, stem and core removed
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup currants, packed
⅔ cup raisins, packed
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves, ground
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
¼ teaspoon salt
zest of one small lemon
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cook for approximately five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft.
Mixture can be hot-packed into sterile mason jars and sealed without further processing, or stored in the fridge. For mince tarts, par-bake tart shells to a very light brown. Add filling and continue to bake until filling starts to bubble and the crust is golden brown. Cool and serve.
Makes approximately 450g mince filling.
Meeru’s Paneer
from Meeru Dhalwala of Vij’s
Paneer tastes great either raw, cooked in curries or marinated and grilled. Since it is mild, it’s popular with children. It’s fairly easy to make as long you use a heavy-bottomed pot. My kitchen staff insisted that I include this bit of Punjabi village folklore: if you first pour a little bit of water in the pan before adding the milk, you will prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
The right type of cheesecloth and pan are crucial to making a good paneer, so I have listed them as part of the ingredients. Make sure you use three layers of cheesecloth as a single layer would allow too much of the milk solids to go through with the liquid.
50ml or 1/4 cup water
1 gallon or 4 liters BC Organic Whole Milk
1½ tsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 piece cheesecloth, folded into a 3—layer piece large enough to line a colander
1 large, heavy-bottomed pan
First pour the 50 ml water into the pan. Then pour the entire gallon of milk slowly into the pot. Stir in the sugar. Turn on the heat to medium and bring the milk to a boil. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Do NOT leave the milk while it is on the heat. Right when the milk rises, but before it overflows, pour the vinegar into the milk and turn off the heat. The milk will stop rising and solids will separate from the liquid. Wait five minutes, until the liquid is completely separated from the solids.
In your colander spread the triple-layered cheese cloth. Place the colander in the sink and carefully pour the entire contents of the pan over the cloth in the colander. Leave the paneer in the colander for about five minutes to drain. Wrap the cheesecloth around the paneer in a ball shape and tie it in a double knot. Place the ball of paneer on a large plate (on a counter or in the sink) and place a two-quart pan of water over the paneer, still wrapped in cheesecloth. This will flatten the paneer to about two inches in height. The remaining water will also slowly drain from the paneer and make the cheese firmer. After half an hour, lift the pan with the water away, unwrap the paneer and place it on another plate. Make sure you scrape away any paneer stuck to the cheesecloth with a spoon. For a firmer paneer, let it remain under the pan of water for one hour.
Mushroom-Crusted Qualicum Bay Scallop
from Eric Pateman, Edible BC
Scallop tips: Dry them thoroughly with a paper towel prior to frying so
they will develop a golden crust. Don’t overcook them (just a minute or
two will do).
Serves 8
150g dried wild BC mushrooms
2 large shallots, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 Tbsp butter or olive oil (or a combination of both)
2 cups beef, vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup white wine
2 cups whipping cream
salt and pepper, to taste
8 large Qualicum Bay scallops (available at Finest At Sea and Seafood City)
¼ cups mushroom powder (lobster, pine, morel, etc.)
200g fresh spinach, cleaned
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
splash of wine (whatever you are drinking)
salt and pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp Onion & Garlic Confit
4 Tbsp Fraser Valley organic hazelnut oil
2 tbsp chives, finely minced
Please note that all measures are approximate—all good chefs improvise based on their mood at the moment!
Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl with 2 cups of hot water and
re-hydrate for a minimum of 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid, and
chop roughly.
While the mushrooms are re-hydrating, check over your scallops and trim
off any tough sinew. Place on a baking sheet with paper towel, and then
cover with paper towel to draw off any excess moisture.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté the shallots and
garlic in the butter and olive oil mixture until transparent. Add the
drained, chopped mushrooms and sauté until you can smell them. Add the
stock, wine and 1 cup of the mushroom water. Reduce by half over medium
heat. Add the whipping cream and reduce again until desired consistency
is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
While the soup is reducing, clean your spinach, mince the garlic, and finely dice the chives. Set aside.
When you are almost ready to serve the course, coat one side of the scallop in mushroom powder.
Heat two large frying pans on medium-high heat, (one for the scallops
and one for the spinach) and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil to
the first pan. Put in the scallops and sauté, mushroom-crust side down
first, until golden brown. Turn over scallops and remove pan from the
heat to let the scallops finish cooking in the pan.
While the scallops are resting, put 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil
in the second pan. Add the spinach and garlic and cook until just
wilted. Use a little wine if you would like to steam the spinach.
To serve, place a small pile of spinach in the center of a deep plate
or bowl. Place a dollop of the onion and garlic confit over the
spinach, and the scallop on top. Serve the soup around the spinach.
Drizzle the plate with the hazelnut oil, and garnish with the chopped chives.
SPRING
4 cups uncooked nettles (cooks down to 1 cup)
4 eggs
1 Tbsp half & half cream
2 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1 Tbsp Simply Fine Foods Garlic Nectar (optional)
1 Tbsp Bragg or Maggi seasoning, or soy sauce
Fresh watercress or herbs in season (oregano, parsley or chervil) to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Be careful not to touch uncooked nettles with bare hands. Steam until tender, drain and coarsely chop.
Beat eggs with liquids in a bowl. Lightly butter a non-stick skillet and add nettles. Cover with egg mixture, add feta and sprinkle with pepper. Cook, covered, on medium-high heat until egg mixture is set.
Serve either sunny-side up, or folded in half to expose golden underside. Garnish with wild watercress or fresh herbs and serve immediately with toast or biscuits. Serves two.
Rhubarb Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cup ground ginger cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted
Sauce:
7 stalks rhubarb, rinsed and chopped into inch-long pieces (about 500g)
5 Tbsp water
1/3- 1/2 cup sugar
grated rind of ½ lemon
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ Tbsp flour
Cheesecake:
2 x 250g packages cream cheese*
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp flour
*Edible Vancouver used Island Farms, one package of regular and one package of light.
Heat oven to 325º.
Make crust by grinding ginger cookies in a food processor until fine. Combine well with melted butter and press evenly over the bottom of a 8” springform pan. Bake for about 10 minutes. Cool.
In medium saucepan, make rhubarb sauce. Combine rhubarb, 5 Tbsp water, 1/3 cup sugar, lemon rind and ground ginger. Cook over low heat until very soft. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Add 1 ½ Tbsp flour and cook, stirring, for a minute or until thickened. Cool and reserve about 1 cup for topping.
Make cheesecake by combining cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour. Add rhubarb sauce except the 1 cup you’ve reserved for the topping. Blend well. Pour over crust and bake about 50 minutes at 325º, or until it hardly moves when shaken. Then turn off the oven but leave the cake in for an additional 10 minutes. It should have come away a little from the sides of the pan.
Cool and top with reserved 1 cup of rhubarb sauce. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Combine eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter. In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients, then add all at once to buttermilk mixture. Stir only until evenly moistened, batter will be lumpy. Add more buttermilk if batter gets too thick.
Melt a little butter or vegetable oil in pan, when a bead of water dances, add batter to make cakes 4–5” in diameter. Turn only once. Serve hot with butter, berries and pure maple syrup.
Makes 8-10 pancakes.
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