Crisp, Crumble or Crunch, it's all good

I love summer for, amongst other things, all the fresh fruit and vegetables it brings. The season kicks off for me with rhubarb and strawberry, two of my and B’s all time favourites. These are just about the best combination for crisp or crumble or crunch or whatever you call your sweetened fruit with an oatmeal, butter, sugar topping.

But it doesn’t stop there. As berries and fruit come into season, they are brought into the recipe either on their own or in a jumbleberry blend of any fruit combination available. What remains the same in every crisp made in my kitchen is the topping.

After some trial and error and experimentation I have found my perfect topping recipe. I like a sweet crunchy topping and if that’s what you like too, you might want to give this recipe a try.

 

What goes under the topping? Limitless possibilities. I have used it for individual fruits and berries or multiple different combinations. The topping recipe will cover up to an 8 x 8 inch pan of fruit, just double the recipe for a larger pan. I use 4 – 6 cups of fruit for the filling depending upon the size of pan I use. I have a small glass baking dish that is perfect for making a crisp for two, I'll use half the topping and freeze the rest for another time.

Add ¼ to ½ cup of white sugar depending upon how sweet or tart the fruit and 2 – 3 tablespoons of uncooked tapioca depending upon how juicy the fruit. I like the texture tapioca adds rather than using corn starch or flour as a thickener.

My last crumble filling consisted of rhubarb and strawberries I'd frozen earlier in the summer, peaches and wild blueberries purchased at the Alderney Farmers Market, gooseberries from the Summerside Farmers Market and a few raspberries and blackberries from the back yard. Best one yet!

 

Fruit Crisp Topping

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine softened

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix together first 3 ingredients.
3. Blend in butter or margarine (I use my hands) til large clumps form.
4. Sprinkle to cover fruit/berries.
5. Bake for 30 -40 minutes until topping is golden brown & filling is bubbling.

 

 

Summer!

Yes, I know, it's been weeks, months even since my last post. Life happens. And that's a good thing. 

My gum paste sweet peas

We've been busy doing the Spring yard work, planting the flower and vegetable gardens. I've been carrying on with my Wilton cake decorating classes and about to finish up the last of the 4 courses. Really loving making the gum paste flowers.

Peas are blooming

I love this time of year because the local, berries and veg slowly start appearing at the market. We have enjoyed the asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb.The strawberries in our own small patch have started ripening this week and I've been having lots of salads with the lettuce & herbs from my deck planters. Won't be long now before we are eating peas from our garden.

Strawberries are ripening

When the early strawberries first appeared at the market I had to have a box. And while I enjoy the berries on their own or over ice cream I wanted to use them to put over cheesecake, one of B's favourite desserts. I've made quite a few cheesecakes over the years but find that making them in a 9" pan, well I can't let good cheesecake go to waste so it ends up going to my waist. So I got myself a 6" springform pan and began experimenting with recipes. The two I've tested are below. We get six small pieces from each cake, just enough to satisfy the craving but not so much as you're getting sick of it before it's halfway gone.

The Lemon Cheesecake can be made without the lemon zest of course and topped with whatever your imagination or available ingredients allow. 

B's youngest daughter recently returned from a 4 month teaching stint in Shanghai, China. She's a bit of a Nutella addict, well really, who isn't. Just before she returned, Costco had these huge 5 kg jars of Nutella for sale. I got one.



I made a couple batches of Nutella Brownies from MMMisForMommy's Blog, she got one of the giant jars too.  I decided to do a little experimenting today to see if I could adjust my cheesecake recipe to include Nutella....success.

So here are the two versions of my mini cheesecake experiments...enjoy.




Mini Lemon Cheesecake

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place pan with water on lower grill in oven.
2. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 6-inch springform pan. Cut parchment paper to just cover bottom of pan and place in pan.
3. Mix graham cracker crumbs with 2 Tbsp of sugar and melted butter in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of pan and place in fridge to set.
4. Mix flour, sour cream/yogurt, milk and vanilla extract in bowl. Set aside.
5. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended.
6. Add egg mix well.
7. Add lemon zest and sour cream mixture; mix until just incorporated.
8. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan.
9. Bake in the preheated oven the surface of the cheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 35 minutes.
10. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 1 – 2 hours, this will help keep the cake from cracking.

Mini Nutella Cheesecake

• 1/2 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place pan with water on lower grill in oven.
2. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 6-inch springform pan. Cut parchment paper to just cover bottom of pan and place in pan.
3. Mix graham cracker crumbs with 2 Tbsp of sugar and melted butter in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of pan and place in fridge to set.
4. Mix flour, milk and vanilla extract in bowl. Set aside.
5. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended.
6. Add egg mix well.
7. Add Nutella and mix well.
8. Add flour & milk mixture, mix until just incorporated.
9. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan.
10. Bake in the preheated oven the surface of the cheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 35 minutes.
11. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 1 – 2 hours, this will help keep the cake from cracking.

Open City Halifax Saturday, May 11, 2013

Getting a little excited about this weekend. We have a date night which coincides with one of our favourite new events in Halifax – Open City. It happens this Saturday, May 11.

What is it? Basically it’s a city wide open house for all Haligonians (residents of Halifax) to experience and explore their own city. It’s an opportunity to try new things, shop in new places and arm ourselves with answers for when our summer visitors & tourists ask, “Where do I go for the best ______ in Halifax”. Mind, you don’t have to be a Haligonian to be allowed to take part, everyone is welcome to come into the city and act like a tourist for a day. The goal is to highlight and support local business and attractions.

I believe the list of participants is now over 100, including local shops, restaurants, museums, artists, entertainers, organizations and attractions. One of the more popular aspects for many is the “Back Door Special” offered up by local restaurants. The mechanics of getting one of these special meals or snacks vary depending on the restaurant, some require a stealthy knock on the back door or others are available at “Pop-Ups” around the city. Some are cash only so you might want to have some on hand for the day. Many participants offer discounts or free samples. The list of participants and what they offer can be found here.  

Nova Scotia School of Art & Design: Artist for a Day

You might want to take a look at the website and start making you plan now, there's even an interactive map to plan your route. Participants are located all over the city, from the North End to the South End and points in between, on Quinpool and Spring Garden, on the Waterfront or in the Hydrostone. You can walk it or bike it or if you’re bringing your car there’s free parking for the day at all the My Waterfront parking lots.

This is the second year for Open City and it seems the list of participating business has grown, sounds like success to me, so successful they had a similar event in October and called it City Harvest. I’m hoping that event carries on as well.

Sugah!

We’ve already decided we’ll be returning to a couple of our favourites, Sugah! and Bishop’s cellar but we’ll be adding a few new.  And I’m pretty sure I have to visit Harbour City Bar & Grill at the Delta Halifax for their special, the “ Short Rib Poutine”. It's my favourite dish on their menu, I’m sure they put it on special just for me.

Short Rib Poutine from Habour City Bar & Grll

There are so many other tempting offerings around the city I can see the day might end in a food coma when we crash at our downtown home for the night, the Delta Barrington.

So wear your comfy walking shoes, buffet pants, bring some cash and get ready to sample Halifax like a tourist for a day and feel the Local Love.


Check out the website I Love Local Halifax

Ultra Thin Crust Pizza

I love pizza. If I had to pick a food to live on for the rest of my life it would be pizza. What can’t you put on top of all that cheesy, bready goodness? Nothing! And yet, it is my nemesis. Typically pizza is so calorie laden and full of processed meats as to make any nutritional value negligible. The first time Brian and I made a pizza together, I swear, the toppings were 2 inches thick. Not a fan, I come from the school of thought that (contrary to the AT&T commercial) less is more, especially when it comes to pizza.

I did manage to get B to pare down the amount of toppings. Yet, when I once put our recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder I found that one slice from a 12 inch pizza, cut into 6 slices was 21 points. Yikes! Somehow I had to create a pizza that satisfied the palate without filling the calorie bank. 

My initial experiments were my version of a pizza margherita. Using a flour tortilla as the base, my toppings were slices of tomato and basil leaves from the garden and thin slices of fresh mozzarella. This was my go to lunch once the tomatoes in my garden were ripe. But Brian was not a fan. No meat!

The resort at which we stayed in Cuba served up a nice ultra thin crust pizza for lunch. We had them three of four times and both agreed we had to try recreating them at home. My sister had been making ultra thin crust pizza for some time so I asked how she did it. She explained that she used Buddy Valastro’s (the Cake Boss) dough recipe and divided it into six portions. She rolls the dough so thin you can see through it, each portion makes about a 12” pizza.

I found the dough recipe online, cut it in half, used all purpose flour instead of unbleached and now have a new Friday night favourite. Done right, I am able to get 3 pizzas from half the recipe. What is not used can be frozen. I also use a partially skimmed milk mozzarella so now we have a pizza with less calories eaten with less guilt.

Another recent discovery I made was pizza sauce in a squeezable bottle. I usually get the Compliments brand from Sobeys and get 3 – 4 pizzas covered with a bottle.  If we have a good tomato crop, I will make my own sauce and freeze it in portions for one pizza.

For the very best results of a nice crispy crust, you need a pizza stone and peel. I’ve had both for years now and love them. Just make sure you’ve got the peel well floured or covered in corn meal before placing the dough and building the pizza so it slides off onto the stone easily.

For toppings, your imagination is the limit. Our standards are Brothers pepperoni, lots of mushrooms, green pepper, thinly sliced onion and a few bacon bits. If I’m making pizza just for myself, some of my favourite toppings are thinly sliced tomatoes, ham & pineapple (do not scoff), switch out regular pizza sauce for BBQ sauce and top with chicken, cheese & veg. Sometimes I’ve used feta or blue cheese instead of mozzarella.

What are some of your favourite pizza topping combinations?

Pizza Dough

• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• ½  tsp sugar
• 1 ½  cups all-purpose flour
• About ½ cup lukewarm water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Makes 2 – 3 Ultra thin crust pizzas

Preparation

Put the yeast in stand mixer bowl. Warm 1/4 cup water (Approx 110° F) and pour it over the yeast, add sugar. Stir and let proof for 10 minutes.

Add the flour, remaining water, salt and olive oil to the yeast mixture in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Paddle on low speed until the mixture comes together. Switch to the dough hook attachment and continue on medium-low speed until the dough comes together in a ball, another 3-4 minutes. Check the dough: If it’s too dry, mix in a bit more water. If too sticky, add more flour.  Continue with dough hook another 3 minutes.
 

Flour work surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Lightly grease a bowl with olive oil, set the ball of dough in the bottom of the bowl and lightly coat with oil, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Let rise by about half its size, 30-45 minutes. (If the house is too cold I sometimes turn the heat on in the oven til it warms a bit then turn it off and put the dough in the oven to rise.)

Clean and re-flour your work surface and transfer the dough to the surface. Cut the dough into thirds (or desired portions), and form into tight balls to press out the excess air. Let rest 10 -15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450° F with pizza stone in oven.

For ultra thin crust roll the dough as thinly as you like into a 10 - 12 inch circle. Placed rolled pizza crust onto well floured pizza peel with one edge slightly over the end of the peel. Add desired pizza toppings.  When oven has heated, carefully remove pizza stone and slide pizza from peel onto the stone.

Return stone to oven. Bake pizza for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is browned and crispy.

Celebrating Earth Day

At some point in my life, I’m sure the romantic ideal of living off the grid appealed to me. To live in a cabin in the woods, growing and foraging for food, hunkering down in the winter around the blazing wood stove and tanning hides to make my own clothes. And then age, knowledge and reality set in. Living off the grid means you pretty much spend every waking minute maintaining gardens, foraging for food, checking the traps, getting firewood and hauling water, just to survive. Yeah, I watch Yukon Men. 

I spent a good bit of time camping in tents, both with my family as a child and with Girl Guides as a leader. I picked up a few good survival skills and numerous life skills along the way and enjoyed many a wilderness experience for a weekend or even a week at a time. When B and I first met we enjoyed camping in a tent, up until a couple of years ago when I found it increasingly difficult to haul myself out of the tent in the wee hours to make my way to the bathroom. Now my idea of roughing it is having a hotel room without a Jacuzzi tub.

Actually, it’s not that bad. There are always the weekends at the cottage to give me a little taste of living off the grid. It’s really more of a rustic cabin built by B and his brothers several years ago. No electricity, no running water and an outhouse. It’s a good big cabin, with a livingroom/kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom (room with a bathtub and a solar shower bag hanging from the ceiling) and a huge loft as an extra sleeping area.

We were there this past weekend to celebrate Earth Day. Not really. We were there for our annual First Fishing of the Season Weekend. We go mid April pretty well every year. B and I and whoever else in the extended family wants to do a little fishing and have a lot of fun. We’ve had upwards of 8 or 9 people on different occasions but this year there were just 5 of us, and really only B and I til late Saturday afternoon.

We had a foggy drive to the cabin and arrived at dusk. It was a very spooky atmosphere with the fog on the river. We unloaded the car, got the wood stove going, plugged the lights into the battery and proceeded to sanitize the kitchen. Yeah, another joy of rustic living, mouse poop, it’s everywhere. We grab a bucket of water from the brook nearby for cleaning and bring it to a boil on the propane stove. Once the place is warmed up and sanitized we have just enough time to read our books (he the traditional type, me a Kobo reader) and then off too bed. 

Saturday is another drizzly day, not suitable for fair-weather fisherfolk.  We head into town for dinner supplies and a nice hot coffee at the local Irving station. On our way back we make a stop for drinking water at a nearby spring. Nothing better than fresh spring water for drinking. The afternoon is spent reading, watching the rain and listening to the squirrel, who seems to have moved into the upstairs loft, complaining about his new downstairs neighbours.

The rest of the gang arrived late Saturday afternoon. Typically we fish during the day and in the evenings we have a great huge bonfire, toast some marshmallows, make s'mores, maybe have a few games of cribbage and imbibe a few too many adult beverages. With the poor weather during this particular weekend, the evenings consisted mostly of the latter.The battery didn't last too long into the second evening so candles shed light on the indoor party.

Sunday was a better day and we all managed to make a few casts into the cold river waters. There were a few May flies on the water but we weren't seeing too much evidence of the fish taking them. In the end, I was the only one that hooked one poor trout. Two or three of the same size might have made a good snack but figuring that wasn't going to happen, I released him to let him fatten up for another day. 

I do enjoy these weekends at the cottage and would likely spend more time there but for one thing, the outhouse. Not the most delightful but certainly one of the more necessary places to have at a camp. I always feel like I want to slip into the rubber boots and hazmat suit, a respirator wouldn't go astray either. In the Spring it's a cold damp trudge up the hill and the summers bring battles with the spiders and flies for squatting rights.

So if I were ever to live off the grid, the first thing I would invest in?  A composting toilet. I could lug spring water everyday and cook over a wood fire for the rest of my life but an indoor toilet is the creature comfort I have come to believe I cannot live without.