Santa was good to me!

It would seem that my family and friends have realized that I love to cook. I know this because I received many cookbooks and Chapters gift cards for Christmas this year; and was I ever excited!! I cannot wait to look through them all and start trying out new recipes.

My wonderful husband bought me Michael Smith's "The Best of Chef at Home". I love the show on the Food Network and the cookbook highlights many of the recipes (or non-recipes lol) that he has done on the show in previous seasons. I love Chef at Home because (1) he cooks non-complicated meals, (2) he is Canadian (P.E.I.), and (3) his recipes are all about comfort foods. I am looking forward to trying out some of his salad dressings most of all.

A good friend of mine gave me the book "Food to Live By" which is written by Myra Goodman from Earthbound Farm Organic--the largest grower of organic produce in the United States. I love this book because it's not just a book of recipes, but also a story of how the farm became what it is today and about how the food industry has evolved over the years. I also love that the recipes include natural ingredients and foods that the farmers have grown on their own land. I don't even know which recipe I'm going to try first....there are just too many to choose from.

I was also given a couple of Chapters gift certificates which made me even more excited because there was a certain book that I could not wait to get my hands on. It was "Earth to Table - Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm". This is such a great book! For one, the author is from Ontario, and secondly, the book highlights foods and recipes for each season (spring, summer, fall, and winter). In addition, the authors also discuss foraging, canning/preserving, and gardening. It's a really good guide for someone who is just beginning their journey into local/seasonal eating.

Overall, it looks like I've got a lot of reading to do and will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen for the next little while. That being said, I still have another $40.00 to spend at Chapters. Anybody have any suggestions for other good cookbooks to add to my collection?

Ontario Cranberries (they do exist!)

To my amazement I was able to find some Ontario cranberries in London today. Havaris Produce in the Covent Garden Market (downtown London) has Muskoka area dried cranberries available. And, oh my, are they ever good. They are much bigger and much juicier than the ones normally found in the grocery store or at Bulk Barn (Ocean Spray). I think I'll be going back for more.According to the Foodland Ontario website there are 3 cranberry-growers in Ontario:

• Johnston Cranberry Marsh near Bala (http://www.cranberry.ca/)
• Iroquois Cranberry Growers on the Wahta Mohawk Territory south of Mactier (http://www.iroquoiscranberries.com/)
• Upper Canada Cranberries in the south end of Ottawa

Two out of the three growers are north of Barrie on the way to Sudbury, which is where my family is from. I may need to make a little pit-stop one day to see what they're all about. Last year, while vacationing in Cape Cod my husband, daughter, and I visited an Organic Cranberry Farm and were able to go on a tour with the farmer. It was interesting to see how cranberries are actually grown and how much work is actually required. Although they are usually only harvested in the month of October it really is a year-round job.

Healthier Christmas Treats

Why is it that traditional Christmas desserts always include tons of butter, lard, and sugar? Shortbread cookies are full of butter and sugar cookies are, well,...full of sugar. After some online searching I did come across a few 'healthier' alternatives. All together, these 5 recipes only use 1/4 cup and 3 tbsp of butter and only 3/4 cups and 3 tbsp of added brown sugar. Although they are still providing mostly empty calories, I feel better knowing that some of the ingredients can be considered nutritious (like applesauce, molasses, prunes, raisins, oats, etc..)

Gingerbread Cookies

-1/4 cup butter, softened

-3/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup applesauce

-1 egg

-1/3 cup dark molasses

-3 cups flour (I used whole wheat)

-1 tsp baking soda

-2 tsp ginger

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp allspice

-1/4 tsp ground cloves

Beat butter, sugar, and applesauce until smooth. Add egg and molasses and mix well. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Divide dough in two and chill for two hours (cover with plastic wrap).

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out dough to 1/4 or 1/8 thickness. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookies 1-2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Peanut-Butter Balls

-10 ounces (1 1/2 cups) peanut butter chips (melted)

-1/2 cup unsalted peanuts (chopped)

-1/2 cup oats

-1/2 cup raisins

-1 tsp cinnamon

Combine ingredients and roll into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate. Pretty simple recipe, eh? The next one is just as easy...

Fruit Nut Christmas Balls

-1 1/2 cups walnuts

-1 cup pitted prunes

-1/2 cup dried cranberries

-1/2 cup chocolate covered raisins

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp ginger

-1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend ingredients in a food processor until it starts to form into a dough-like ball. Roll into 1-inch balls and refrigerate.

Chewy Coconut Macaroons

-2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

-3/4 cup flour (this is one rare time I've used all-purpose...)

-1/8 tsp salt

-1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used low-fat--couldn't find fat-free)

-1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Toss ingredients together. Drop mixture by teaspoonful onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 300F for 18-22 minutes.

**These turned out okay but I think I would toast the coconut first for the next time. The coconut just didn't toast at all when following the recipe.

Cherry Thumbprints

I didn't get a chance to complete this one today but I figure it'll probably turn out allright so I'll post this recipe as well. I hope to get this one done sometime this week or maybe next weekend.

-3 tbsp butter

-3 tbsp brown sugar

-2 tbsp applesauce (or canola oil)

-1 egg yolk

-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-1 cup flour

-1/4 tsp salt

-red and green candied cherries (halved)

Beat butter and sugar until blended. Beat in applesauce, egg yolk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt and gradually add this to the butter mixture. Shape the dough into balls and flatten slightly. Bake at 375F for 5 minutes. Fill the center of each cookie with the red or green candied cherry and press down lightly. Bake for another 6-8 minutes.

The Yearly Christmas Treat

It's that time of year again...Christmas... I have a love-hate relationship with this holiday. I hate feeling the stress that comes with purchasing gifts; but at the same time, I do love the time spent with family and the food that often comes with it. It's the season of treating ourselves. There are so many fond memories that I have that relate to Christmas treats--like my mom's date cookies and peanut butter balls....sooo good! She still makes them every year even to this day. It's tradition!

I've tried to come up with my own holiday traditions in my home as well. My daughter loves to help me bake so I make sure that we always do some baking over the holidays--I'm actually hoping to get some gingerbread cookies done this weekend (watch for another post coming soon with those!). Another tradition that we have though is the yearly gifting of the sugary cereal box. My daughter knows that cereals like Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs, Golden Grahams, etc.. are not welcome in my grocery cart and she has come to accept this. However, as a treat she always gets one box for Christmas. Last year she got a box of Froot Loops and this year she'll be getting a box of Lucky Charms. She is overjoyed every time and I think she'll always remember having these cereals on Christmas morning with us (cause you know...she has to share with us too LOL).

I think that completely depriving ourselves of processed foods, junk, or imported foods isn't the way to go but rather that an occasional 'treat' enables us to savour the food that much more. I also believe that by giving my daughter this yearly gift she will learn that these foods are meant to be treats and not everyday foods...I can hope at least!

Dishes that Move with the Seasons

There are so many dishes that I make year round no matter what the season is; whether it be soup, quiche, shepards pie, or spaghetti with meat sauce. But, no matter how many times I make it, it's different every time. They're definitely dishes that change with the seasons.

Quiche for instance is good in the Spring with fresh asparagus, but is also good with broccoli during the Summer. The same can be said for shepards pie. During the Fall and Winter season I may use carrots as my vegetable, but during the Summer I may use peas or corn. Over the Winter I may use cabbage in my soups or green beans and zucchini during the other months. Recipes like these are so versatile and can be changed to suit any season or personal preference.

Earlier this week I made a shepards pie with ground turkey as the base and carrots and corn as my vegetable (the corn was frozen over the Summer). I used some left-over sweet potato soup as my liquid for the meat/vegetable mixture with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce added in as well. I topped it all off with some mashed potatoes (skin on, of course) seasoned with chives and my new sea salt/garlic/chives mixture from Epicure.

Tonight I made some plain old spaghetti and meat sauce. I used some yummy lean ground beef and garlic that I got from Adelaide Farms and mixed in an onion, chopped greenhouse orange and red peppers with tomato sauce and seasoned it with cayenne pepper and chili powder.

That's what's great about these meals; you can put just about everything in them besides the kitchen sink and it'll still taste good. And, the base for these meals are items that can be purchased locally all year round; like eggs, ground beef/turkey, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, etc..

Are there any meals that you make that change with the seasons?