How to make a cranberry cake

Mama Squirrel's Applesauce-Cranberry Cake (adapted from this Canadian Living apple-spice muffin recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat bran or rolled oats (I used quick oats)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg (I used only about 1/2 tsp.)
1 tsp allspice (I used about 1/4 tsp.)
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sweetened applesauce (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups diced peeled apples (I used about a cupful of chopped cranberries instead; you could use a combination)

Mix the dry and liquid ingredients separately.  Blend together and add in the cranberries (or chopped apples).  Spread into a large (greased) pie dish, or a 9 x 13 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees as a cake, for about 30 minutes (roughly); or spoon into muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done.  If you bake it as cake, test to be sure it's done in the middle; the middle of mine was done but just slightly squishy.  Eat for dessert or for breakfast.

What's for supper? Inauthentic Chicken Paprikash, but we liked it (recipe included)

Tonight's dinner menu:

Canadian Living's recipe for Chicken Paprikash, adapted to what we had (see below)
Reheated basmati rice
Sweet potatoes
Butterscotch dumplings, because we had a container full of homemade sauce that needed to be used up

Boy, people nitpick a lot.  The Hungarian-born readers (see the comments below the original recipe) certainly didn't care for this version of Paprikas/Paprikash.  I'm sure they wouldn't like what I did to it, either.  But you know what?  Mr. Fixit, whose Schwabian grandma fed him many Hungarian-influenced dishes including Paprikas, thought it was fine.  So don't call Lisa and complain.  (Besides, she can't cook anything except hots-cakes.)

Also, the sodium count as calculated in the sidebar is very high.  Looking at the ingredients, I'm not even sure what's driving it up quite that high.  Probably just the chicken broth (even in a reduced-sodium version) plus the added salt, and then dividing the recipe into only four servings.  A couple of commenters blamed the tomato paste, but the tomato paste we buy, just ordinary store brand, doesn't have salt in it; in fact, we used tomato paste quite a lot when Mr. Fixit was on a severely-reduced-sodium diet, so I think they're wrong.   Possibly the sour cream, although I'd have to check our container to see.

Here's the recipe plus my comments/changes.

Chicken Paprikash to Enjoy (Not to Fight Over)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

1 lb (454 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs, quartered --  I used a pound of chicken breasts instead, partly thawed and cut in small chunks

1 onion, thinly sliced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2-1/2cups (625 mL) sliced trimmed cremini mushrooms --  I used frozen mixed vegetables that contained diced onion, mushrooms, red peppers, and green beans, plus half a teaspoon of garlic powder

2 tbsp (30 mL) sweet paprika --  I used only 1 tbsp. of "regular" supermarket paprika, plus 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

3 tbsp (45 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste

2 cups (500 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth

1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice

1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt -- or less

1 pinch pepper

1 pkg (375 g) broad egg noodles --  we had leftover rice so didn't cook noodles

1/2 cup (125 mL) 5% sour cream --  we passed this at the table

2tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh parsley --  left this out

Preparation

In large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat; brown chicken, 4 to 5 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove chicken to plate. Drain fat from pan.  (I didn't drain anything, because I was using white meat.)

Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, mushrooms and paprika, stirring often, until onion is softened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in broth and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Return chicken to pan; add lemon juice, salt and pepper.

[Meanwhile, in saucepan of boiling salted water, cook noodles according to package directions.]

Drain noodles and serve topped with chicken mixture. Garnish with sour cream and parsley.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: February 2012

What's for supper? Beef and cabbage soup

Tonight's dinner:

Canadian Living's Beef and Cabbage Soup (without the rice, but with leftover sausage and sauerkraut added in)

Peasant Bread

Fruit yogurt, or last night's blueberry crisp, or an apple

What's for supper? Fish and veggies

Tonight's supper:

Baked Alaskan pollock (frozen block of fish)
1 large sweet potato, sliced and baked
Canned black beans, baked along with the sweet potato
Kale
Reheated couscous
Cottage cheese
Banana mini-muffins

Let's make muffins

The heat level went down enough yesterday that we decided to make some of Chef Earl's Muffins. Chef Earl is Earl Johnson, who was the subject of a favourite Canadian Living article which also featured Potage Paysanne, a soup we try to make at least once a year just because it's so much better than the ingredients make it sound (turnip, leeks, parsnips--shudder). The story of how he won over the high school students in Winnipeg also made it into Reader's Digest.

His muffin recipes are a bit fancier and sweeter than my usual throw-it-in-the-bowl formula, but once in awhile--like the soup--they're fun to make. The recipes for Streusel Apple Raisin Muffins and Black Bottom Muffins made 24 large muffins and 24 half-size muffins, respectively. I found it was just as easy to get all the dry ingredients mixed for both (put the 2 cups flour for one in one large bowl, then the 1 1/2 cups flour for the other in another bowl, and so on), mix up the wet ingredients for both, and then finish putting both recipes together and bake them at the same time. If you have an extra willing pair of hands around, it helps too. (Ponytails put the Streusel muffins together.)

Note on the Black Bottom Muffins: they call for cream cheese, but I've substituted both sour cream and drained (thick) plain yogurt, and both work fine. They do tend to get sticky if they sit around, so you would probably want to keep them refrigerated or frozen.

Especially if it's the middle of August.

What's for supper? Sausage pasta with cherry tomatoes

This is Mama Squirrel's lighter version of a recipe that Canadian Living ran last November and that we adapted as well. I guess you'd call this the summer edition...small fresh chard leaves instead of big hoary late-fall ones...tiny fresh tomatoes instead of diced...and done in a skillet instead of baked.

Sausage Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Two or three mild Italian sausages, uncooked, sliced (although you could use leftover cooked ones)
Several fresh mushrooms, sliced thin
A bowlful of very sweet, fresh cherry tomatoes
Half a can of no-salt chickpeas, drained and rinsed
A small bowlful of baby chard leaves, with the accompanying earwig discarded, rolled up and sliced thinly (EWW correction: discard the earwig, slice the chard!)
Cooked fusilli or other spiral pasta, enough to feed about four people
Some grated mozzarella or Parmesan cheese...you don't need too much

In a nonstick skillet, start cooking the sliced sausage; cook until all the pink is gone. Add cherry tomatoes and sliced mushrooms; cook for several minutes and drain off excess fat/liquid. Add chickpeas and continue cooking until everything is pretty much done the way you want; stir in pasta and chard, top with grated cheese, and let it all heat through for a few minutes. If you turn the heat down or off, it can sit for a few minutes without complaining too much.

You will notice that this is not a very tomatoey dish. If you insist on more tomatoes, you could add part of a can of sauce.

You will also notice that there isn't any extra seasoning added; this is because the sausage we get is already pretty flavourful. Otherwise I would have added some pepper.

(What's for dessert?)

Food we really eat, recipes we really make

Specially for Ponytails: here's a link to the webpage for CBC's Best Recipes Ever, a cooking show we both like to watch. If you like Canadian Living-style family-oriented recipes, this is your show. If you like to see how those recipes are actually supposed to look, this is your show. If you like food adjectives like ooey-gooey-goodness, this is definitely your show.

Very educational.

The candy that did turn out?

That wouldn't be the chocolate-pretzel clusters in the Crockpot...although a couple of the Squirrelings did like those. Mama Squirrel just made one too many substitutions in that recipe, and the salty pretzels, while interesting, were just a little too...salty.

What did turn out well--it's really almost failproof--is Canadian Living's Quick Fruit and Nut Fudge. Made just like the recipe says, except we leave out the nuts and use dried cherries for the fruit. And we use homemade sweetened-condensed-milk substitute. Cut them small, and they're incredibly good, especially with the slightly tart dried cherries. We've actually posted the recipe here before; which is why Mama Squirrel figured that these, at least, would defy her tendency to mistake-prone-ness this week. And she wasn't wrong.

Unjinxing dinner (Thai-style curried chicken)

I have had one cooking disaster after another lately. The crockpot ravioli all the Recipezaar commenters loved had the texture of shoe leather; a recipe for zucchini pizza squares that turned out fine the last time I made it (ten years ago) seemed to have lost its zip and wasted a whole lot of cheese; two different cookie recipes sounded good but didn't turn out so well. Mr. Fixit had a tussle on the weekend with a bag of uncooperative charcoal that wouldn't cook, wouldn't cook, wouldn't cook...even the toaster oven quit working.

Well, the Apprentice's birthday buttertart squares turned out all right.

And tonight's dinner was good too. I adapted this Canadian Living recipe for Oven-Baked Curried Chicken to make it on the stovetop, and also to lower the sodium a bit. I've made it in the oven (you should probably allow more cooking time than CL recommends, depending on your chicken) but I think I like it better on the stovetop anyway.

So this is my version. Total cooking time is 30 to 40 minutes. It might sound weird with the Dijon mustard and everything, but we thought it was very good, especially with some jasmine rice and Oriental-style vegetables, and a basket of chow mein noodles. And slices of microwave chocolate cake for dessert.

Mama Squirrel's Thai-Style Curried Chicken

1/3 cup 2% plain yogurt
3 tbsp liquid honey
4 tsp. Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil or as needed to cook the chicken (I used more)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp. cornstarch if required
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or more; we ended up with extra sauce so could probably have put in more chicken)

Preparation:

In a bowl combine together yogurt, honey, curry paste, soy sauce, mustard and pepper. Set aside.

Cut the chicken in medium-sized cubes--it's easier to cut if it's still partly frozen.

In a skillet (I used non-stick), heat the oil and start cooking the cut-up chicken. Now what actually happened tonight was that I put the lid on, and the chicken poached more than it browned, giving off quite a lot of liquid. That was fine too; but I stirred a tablespoon of cornstarch into the sauce mixture just in case. Cornstarch could be added at the end instead, if needed. Cook the chicken cubes until pretty much done, then stir in the sauce. Simmer the whole thing, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes more or until the chicken is well cooked and the sauce smells good. Serve over cooked rice (I like jasmine rice with this).

Crisp Seedy Oatmeal Cookies--or bars

I made this Canadian Living cookie recipe today--but part of the oven was already taken up with dinner and I didn't want to fuss with making individual cookies. So I pressed the dough into a 9x13 inch pan, and baked it at 350 degrees till the edges were brown and the middle was set--about half an hour. I cut it in bars while it was still warm, then let it finish cooling in the pan.

I didn't have any Rice Krispies, so I used up the end of a box of Koala Crisp, plus some puffed wheat. I ran the cold cereal and the rolled oats through the food processor because the grains of puffed wheat were so large, and I think it was an improvement. The cookies turned out really well, with a nice texture.

The only other change I'd make is to leave out the pumpkin seeds--substitute some raisins, or just leave them out. They may add some protein, but I don't think they really added anything to the cookies.

What's in your hand: Extreme Edition

"What's in your hand" is a favourite phrase of the Deputy Headmistress. Just to give proper credit.

Do you remember that Little House Christmas chapter where things are in a bad state, gift-wise and otherwise? As Laura falls asleep that Christmas Eve, she hears Ma saying something like "there's still the white sugar." The bag of white sugar is a huge treat, usually hoarded and saved for company. But the next morning, in their stockings they each find a sugar-topped cookie. (Apologies to Birdie.)

I get a similar impulse around this time of year, usually in the last week or so before Christmas when the present list seems a little thin (and it's almost too late to start making things). Use it up! Pour it out! What good is it doing just sitting around if we could use it for something? And I don't mean just the butter and sugar...although I did finish off the part-bag of brown sugar and the whole box of raw sugar, two pounds of butter, and all the eggs. (Groceries today.)

Without trying to give away too many secrets, we used up the last of the tacky craft glue, a package of black pompoms (bought several years ago) plus a few leftover coloured ones, most of the cotton yarn, some dollar-store scrapbooking paper bought last February, several vintage hankies, the last of several spools of thread, and a couple of large pieces of fabric that were sitting...just sitting, not pulling their weight. Not to mention that green cord and the glitzy napkins. And some other things I'm not allowed to name.

We bought a roll of white paper at the toy store in the summer (to make a Pilgrim's Progress scroll and also a life-size paper girl; last week Crayons noticed the Snowman Factory idea (think giant paper dolls) on the Canadian Living website. Perfect!--four large snowmen now in progress. (That's where the pompoms and scrapbooking paper are going.) She also wants to make some smaller paper-chain snowmen like the ones she saw on the wall at Ponytails' school.

Last year's last-minute making was much the same: I used up all the craft stuffing we had plus a big piece of quilt batting and most of our yard-saled bulky yarn to make The Apprentice a sausage-shaped pillow. That doesn't mean I went right out and bought more stuffing, either; actually we didn't buy any until last week.

At certain times in your life you might go through a "nesting" phase--a time to gather it all up, acquire, stock the shelves. At Christmas my instinct is to do the opposite: not with a feeling of using up unwanted rags, not scrounging, but rather using the best that we have, and all of it if necessary. Enjoying it, sharing it, --the most beautiful treasures and the favourite ingredients, used and given freely. Some of it, we'll replace quickly: eggs and brown sugar are easy to come by, and we can get more glue. Other things we may do without for awhile...I don't know if or when I'll ever have a whole package of black pompoms around again.

But next year we'll make something else.

More rhubarb recipes

If you're looking for rhubarb recipes, Canadian Living has links here to some recipes from last month's issue. (That's mostly to jog my own memory!)

Cappuccino Thumbprint Cookies

I seem to be having to do less typing of favourite recipes lately and more linking. I was going to post a Canadian Living cookie recipe for Cappuccino Thumbprints, but here it is already on their website, with photo. They are kind of fun (get it? they're supposed to look like cups of cappuccino with cream and cinnamon on top), and not really hard to make.

My own additions/suggestions are that we substituted soft margarine for butter (it's what we had), used unbleached flour, and instead of melting white chocolate chips in the thumbprints, we chopped up four or five leftover squares of white baking chocolate and divided that out among the 36 cookies. Which probably gave us slightly more chocolate in the middle, but who's complaining? (The recipe says it makes 42, but we ended up with 36).

One suggestion the kids had about the final sprinkle of cinnamon was that you could use cinnamon-sugar mix instead, if you don't like biting into cinnamon straight. Otherwise, just go easy on it--a little sprinkle will do ya.

Blinky-blink Carrot Cake (trying to get it right)

I used to keep a scrapbook-cookbook with cartoons pasted in among the recipes. One of my favourites showed a lady baking something in her kitchen, and a lot of rabbits hopping around the table and more coming through the window. Her husband comes in and says something like, "What the blinky-blink are you making?" She says (of course), "Carrot cake." The carrot cake recipe I've used for the last while is...okay. It's fairly healthy, if a bit dry and slightly boring; you can eat it for breakfast without guilt. It reminds me a bit of The Hillbilly Housewife's Cinnamon Raisin Bars (which are very tasty), with carrots instead of raisins. But it isn't CARROT CAKE...do you know the kind I mean? The kind you'd make a trip to Mother's Pizza for when you weren't even having pizza; the kind smothered in cream cheese icing; the kind that's moist and carrotty and nutty all at the same time; the kind my mom baked for our wedding. So I pulled out about five different recipes for carrot cake, from the sweetest, highest-fat '60's version to more recent Betty Crocker and Canadian Living recipes. And I think I have the basics pretty much figured out, along with the reasons why the one we've been making is a bit on the austere side (besides the fact that I don't ice it). The basics of a "regular" carrot cake seem to be: 2 cups flour; 1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar (can be half brown); either 3 cups grated carrots or 2 cups carrots plus 1 cup drained crushed pineapple; 2 tsp. cinnamon; a bit of salt (anywhere from a pinch to 3/4 tsp.); 3 to 4 eggs; 1 tsp vanilla; around 1 cupful of oil; and something to raise it with (which seems to be a point of debate). Some people add chopped nuts; some add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. You mix the dry and wet ingredients separately and bake. The "something to raise it with" varies from either 1 to 2 tsp. baking soda, alone, to 2 tsp. baking powder plus a tsp. of baking soda; to 2 tsp. of each. Other than making a lot of test batches, I have no way of proving which is the best combination, other than the fact that Canadian Living's "best" recipe calls for 2 tsp. baking powder plus 1 tsp. soda. (Link is broken! Yes, I know. Correction in progress.) Maybe it doesn't matter a whole lot. The pan sizes given vary a lot too, in spite of the fact that all the recipes I compared were based on 2 cups of flour. I've been baking our less-fat recipe in a 9 x 13 inch pan, but some of the recipes say to use an 8 or 9 inch pan instead (which makes sense, because when I bake a standard batch of muffins in a square pan it comes out right). That might be part of the problem right there--the cake's getting more spread out and a bit dried out. The recipe we've been using is also from Canadian Living, but it was designed to be lower fat; the oil is cut to 1/3 cup and you add a cupful of applesauce to make up the difference. The flour is increased to 2 1/3 cups (half whole wheat), which might explain why it's a bit dry; but the sweetener is cut to 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and the carrots, for some reason, are cut to 2 cups (without any pineapple). Maybe if you added in the pineapple, it would taste better even without the added fat and sugar. But no guarantees. I think I'm going to try it (in a square pan)with 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3/4 to 1 cup oil, plus the pineapple, and we'll see if we have to beat off the rabbits.

Treehouse Recipe Index for 2006

[Reposted and updated]

Here's a roundup of the recipes we posted this year on Dewey's Treehouse. I didn't include the ones that were only given as a link. And I should note that most of these aren't original: they came from Food that Really Schmecks, Whole Foods for the Whole Family, The Harrowsmith Cookbook, Vegetarian Times, Canadian Living, and friends who like to cook.

[Update note: one might THINK, especially after viewing the November and December recipes, that we eat nothing in the Treehouse but chocolate. Mama Squirrel thinks that would be nice, but it isn't true. As our New Year's Resolution, we promise to provide a few slightly more healthful recipes in 2007.]

January
Kitchener Special
Kasha-Vegetable Pilaf
Sugar-free Banana Prune Bread

February
Subversive Tuna Recipe (Tuna Wrap-Up)
Raisin Sesame Cookies

March
Cocoa-Ricotta Cream
Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry
Dulcie's Macaroni Meal in a Skillet

April
Good Friday Kiffle (or Kolacky or Kolache)--one of our most-Googled recipes

May
Coffeemamma's Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins

July
No-Bake Brownies

August
Hungarian Stew
Swiss-Cashew Salad, Our Version
Serendipity and the DHM's Chicken Recipe

September
Tofu Chocolate Pie

October
Cranberry-Apricot Loaf
Pumpkin Gingerbread Snacking Cake
Edna Staebler's Glorious Golden Pumpkin Pie

November
Small Chocolate Cake
Rather Retro Recipe (Lemon Dessert)
Jam Bars
Chocolate Fingers

December
Christmas Day Lunch (Jiggle Bells and Star of the East Salad Plate)
Chocolate-Apricot Confections
Chocolate-Hazelnut Slices or Crescents


Our 2005 Recipe Index

Chocolate Hazelnut Crescents

Sometimes you forget just how good some things are to eat until you have them again. Hong Sue Tofu. Fresh blueberry pie. And these chocolate shortbread Christmas cookies. I made a batch yesterday (the Squirrelings helped), and I remembered why they'd stayed in my recipe folder--they're indescribably delicious, not in an over-the-top way like some of the full-of-chips-and-nuts cookies, but with a more subtle flavour that sneaks up on you. They're not as sweet as you would expect; they have more of a dark chocolate taste than a sugary one. Even Mr. Fixit (who's not a big Christmas cookie eater) took another one (even with the ground hazelnuts on them).

The recipe came from Canadian Living magazine, December 1992. I've added my own notes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Slices (or Crescents)

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar, if you're in the U.S.)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts (also called filberts) or almonds (I bought them already ground at the bulk store)

Garnish: 5 or 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, and about 3/4 cup ground nuts [2010 update: We've discovered that they taste even better, and look even fancier, dipped in white chocolate instead--white chocolate chips work fine.)  [2011 update:  Watch them--really watch them while they're baking, and take them out early if they seem to be done.  This is the second year in a row that a few of mine have come out too dark on the bottom.  It's hard to tell because they're very dark anyway, but you don't want burned chocolate cookies.]
------------------------------------------------

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the flour, cocoa and ground nuts.

If you want to slice and bake the cookies, turn the dough out onto waxed paper; shape into two logs about an inch in diameter, wrapping the paper around the logs. Chill until firm. Cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices. Bake on ungreased baking sheets for about 15 minutes at 325 degrees F or until set. Let cool. (Cookies can be prepared to this point, covered and frozen for up to 1 month).

Garnish (we'll get to the crescents in a minute): In a bowl set over hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate (or do it in the microwave). Dip edges of cookies into chocolate, then into ground nuts. Let stand on a rack until set. [Put waxed paper under the rack first unless you want to scrape chocolate off the counter.] Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Makes about 5 dozen.

Crescents Variation:

Chill the dough in the bowl for 30 minutes. Form 1 tbsp. of dough each into crescents. If you have kids around, they can help roll small balls into sausages and then bend them a bit to form moon shapes. Make sure that the bendy part is good and solid, though, without cracks; otherwise the crescents will break in half when you take them out of the oven.

The directions say to chill the dough on the baking sheets for 30 minutes, but I don't bother; besides, I can't fit two sheets of cookies in the fridge at once. [2010 update: I think the chilling is a good idea, though, because I didn't chill them again this year and they spread a bit more than I wanted.] Then it says to bake for 30 minutes, but I think that's a typo (somebody got carried away with the 30 minutes thing)--15 minutes at 325 degrees is fine. You can then dip the ends in melted chocolate and nuts; or if you're very pressed for time (and don't mind wasting a few nuts), you can drizzle the chocolate over the cookies on the cooling rack (with waxed paper underneath), and sprinkle the nuts on top of that. Let them set and then shake off any excess. Since the crescents are slightly bigger than the sliced cookies, this variation makes only 3 dozen.

Two pumpkin recipes (yes, The Pie Recipe)

First, Pumpkin Cake. Or Pumpkin Loaf. Or Pumpkin Muffins, if you're so inclined.

This appeared, with an appetizing-looking photograph, on our newspaper's food page today. When I looked at the recipe, it was the same Canadian Living recipe I've been making forever. So feeling inspired (and having a can of pumpkin), Ponytails and I made a batch. This is the recipe as originally written, with my notes in brackets.


PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD SNACKING CAKE

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) granulated sugar [2009 update: we have been cutting back on the sugar in this, down to 1 cup, and it still tastes fine]
2 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk (or sour milk or thinned yogurt)
1 3/4 cups (425 ml) all-purpose flour (we used part whole-wheat today)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice (We use only 1/4 tsp. of cloves and allspice)
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) baking powder

Icing sugar (optional--we skip it)

1 In a large bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil and buttermilk until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and baking powder. Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until blended.

2 Pour batter into lightly greased nine-by-nine-inch (2.5-litre) square baking pan. (Or an 8-inch square pan. Or a casserole dish if all your other pans are dirty. Mama Squirrel did not mean to imply that she has a kitchen full of dirty dishes, only that some of her pans are currently holding food in the fridge.)

3 Bake in a preheated 350 F (180 C) oven until top springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes (or longer--test to see if it's done). Let cool in pan on rack. Dust with icing sugar.

Makes a nine-by-nine-inch (2.5-litre) cake.

SOURCE: CANADIAN LIVING'S BEST MUFFINS & MORE, BY TELEMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS INC., ADISON PRESS BOOKS


Okay, now that Wicked Pumpkin Pie. This is not the solid-packed version that everybody makes from the pumpkin can label; this is fluffy and lightly spiced, and we look forward to it every year.

There are very similar recipes for this in two of Edna Staebler's cookbooks (Food that Really Schmecks and Schmecks Appeal: More Mennonite Country Cooking). I've made them both and the only real difference (I think) is in the amount of filling that the recipe makes. So here is the Schmecks Appeal version, and if you happen to want a little more (extra company coming), you can look for one of the reprint copies of Food That Really Schmecks.

"Glorious Golden Pumpkin Pie"

2 cups pureed pumpkin (canned is just fine)
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. rum (optional) or 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 egg whites, beaten stiff (I use the food processor whipping attachment to get them good and stiff)
Pastry for a 9-inch pie (I use pat-in pastry because I'm lazy)
Whipped cream for garnish if you want

Mix the pumpkin, egg yolks, milk and rum or vanilla. (We use vanilla.) Add the sugar, blended with the spices and salt. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn the mixture into the unbaked pie shell and bake at 400 degress for 10 minutes (I start it at 425 degrees instead of 400 though), then at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes longer or until a knife comes out clean.

Chef Earl's Soup (and Ruby Red Rutabagas)

In February 2003, Canadian Living Magazine published a story about chef Earl Johnson's way-better-than-your-average-cafeteria-food at Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg. They followed up that October (after many requests) with some of his recipes. We've been making his Potage Paysanne ever since, on cold days and when we can manage to get turnip (we use rutabaga), parsnips, leeks and parsley all in our fridge at the same time. (Sometimes we leave one or the other of those things out.)

Now Mama Squirrel must be unflinchingly honest: she hates rutabaga. Rutabaga crumble, rutabaga casserole, rutabaga disguised with apples and spices--it's still rutabaga. Rutabaga raw and sliced is tolerable; and Earl's soup makes it taste...well, about as good as you're going to get a rutabaga to taste. We figured if Earl could convince the teenagers in Winnipeg to eat this, it must have something going for it.

And it gives us one way to eat our ruby-red rutabagas with a smile.

(I'm not posting the recipe, in case you wondered or missed the link; Canadian Living did it nicer than I can, here.)

Chinese food

One of the first (and really the only) sort-of-international restaurants I remember eating at WIWAK (When I Was a Kid--there, I just made up my own Internet abbreviation) was George's Chinese Restaurant. George was probably the most authentic Chinese thing about the place...it was pretty standard Cantonese-for-Canadian-tastes cuisine. Very good food, but not scary.

When I started university, I had a Chinese-Canadian roommate whose parents ran a restaurant. She told me that it was also a to-Canadian-tastes restaurant, and that when her parents wanted to eat real Chinese food, they closed the restaurant and headed to Toronto. Since we were studying in Toronto, she offered to take a couple of us to Chinatown for something a little more adventurous than soo guy almond.

So we were introduced to congee, and rice noodles fried with meat, and the little bowls filled with rice where you take some of what's on the table and add it to your bowl. And chopsticks, of course. And tilting the lid on your teapot to signal that you wanted more. I went back to that restaurant a few times while I lived in Toronto, and also checked out some other interesting places. One restaurant I remember featured the cooking of some Chinese province that specialized in spicy (not Szechuan). Not realizing just how hot that chili-spiked dish was already, I added some of the bowl of sauce on the table...it wasn't plum sauce! But I ate it anyway.

This recipe is a lot tamer than that. I think it's kind of semi-authentic Chinese (meaning it uses hoisin sauce instead of ketchup). We've made it a couple of times and it's very tasty.

Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry

1 sweet red or green pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef (we have also used leftover roast beef)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. minced gingerroot (the kind you have to chop up)
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
3 cups diagonally halved trimmed green beans
1/2 cup beef stock (I used no-MSG bouillon powder)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Rice or noodles for serving

Get everything ready to go before you cook. Seed, core and cut the pepper into thin strips. Mix up the beef stock, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and cornstarch. Chop up the beans, garlic and ginger.

Ready? In wok or large skillet, stir-fry the beef over high heat until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove the beef and set aside. (If you're using leftover meat, cut it into thin strips and add it later with the vegetables.)

Drain fat from the wok; add oil. Stir-fry garlic, ginger, salt and pepper over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add green beans, red pepper and 2 tbsp. water; cover and steam until beans and pepper are tender-crisp, 3 minutes.

Return beef to wok. Stir up the hoisin mixture again and stir into pan. Bring to boil; boil, stirring, until sauce is thickened and glossy, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with green onions or pass them at the table.

(Source: Canadian Living Magazine, March 2005)

All around the kitchen

Re-posted in 2011, with updates

Our friend the DHM at The Common Room started a Meme for Monday. In other words, a quiz game to play and pass on, in this case about our kitchens and cooking habits.

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

Two adults, one teenager, two younger children. We eat most meals at home, maybe eat out once a month. Mr. Fixit sometimes stays at work over lunch and goes out for a burger.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

I thought I had quite a few, but definitely not as many as the DHM's guess of 300. Maybe 40? I have some doubles for the girls (for when they're out on their own someday).



3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

Including my binder of printouts and clippings? Probably several times a week.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources?

The Internet is one of my favourite sources as well, particularly recipes from friends' blogs. I also think the recipes from Canadian Living turn out pretty well. As Mama Lion said in her responses, the Internet has definitely changed my cookbook-buying habits and also my clipping-and-saving habits. Reading the Hillbilly Housewife's site alone has been the equivalent of a new cookbook.

5. How do you store recipes?

The ones I like go into a binder. Clippings I'm just thinking about go in an accordion file.

6. Do you follow recipes pretty closely, or use them primarily to give you ideas?

Depends on what it is. I've read so many recipes for things like lentil soup that by now I just notice "oh, they put in oregano and carrots, maybe I'll try that." But some recipes work so well just the way they're written that I don't want to change them. I like recipes that give you variations and suggestions for substitutions, because I don't always have whatever-it-is on hand.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking?

How about this: Post-vegetarian/tightwad/comfort food with a few shots of Mennonite and Schwabian. (Mr. Fixit's family cooked in an Eastern European style that combined German, Hungarian and Croatian cooking influences.)

8. What's your favourite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?

Taking something out of the oven that smells good. And maybe puttering around before supper time, getting everything on the table.




9. What's your least favourite part?

Peeling things.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

I usually have several meals in mind but I don't always know when we're going to have them.

11. What are your favourite kitchen tools or appliances?

Crockpot, toaster oven, timer. And Mr. Fixit's power grinder that sharpens knives, but that's in the garage.

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money no object and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

A gas stove and new curtains.

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

A blender, if I can find one at a yard sale. (I want to make milkshakes.)

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

Yes, we just got one.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

We all go together on Saturdays, and then Mr. Fixit goes to the butcher's when he's at that end of town.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

It depends on the week. Usually a couple of nights a week, and then I guess you could count "meatless leftovers" the next day!



17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favourite kitchen colours? (And yes, I spell Canadian; doing it the other way is like walking backwards for me.)

A theme? "Homeschool Contemporary." Blue and yellow flowered wallpaper. I have a few vintage china things out that I like, roosters and funny-face jam jars.

18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?

My mother let me put bacon on the Kraft Pizza Mix when I was about three...

19. How did you learn to cook?

Brownie Cooking Badge when I was nine?

"1. Prepare a breakfast, set the table and serve the breakfast. It should include: juice, cooked cereal, boiled or poached egg, toast and milk. Tea or coffee for adults.

2. Prepare and pack the following in a lunch box:
a) A sandwich made with meat, poultry, fish, cheese, egg or peanut butter filling. [I guess tofu spread wasn't an option?]
b) A raw vegetable, washed and prepared, such as carrots, turnip or celery sticks.
c) A raw fruit or cooked or canned fruit in a leak-proof container.
d) Simple cookies you have made.
e) A hot drink in an insulated container.
OR
Prepare and serve, at a table or on a tray, a lunch or supper to include:
a) Hot soup, either homemade or canned.
b) A sandwich made with meat, fish, poultry, cheese, egg or vegetable filling; with a raw vegetable served on the side.
c) Canned fruit.
d) Milk, tea or coffee for adults."

I also learned from making a lot of dinners during high school (my mom often got home from work right at supper time) and from working for a chef in a camp kitchen one summer. I did NOT learn from the one year of grade 7 home ec I took.

[Oh, I forgot to say that I took a Community Nutrition Worker course ten years ago. But that wasn't about learning to cook--it was more about budgeting and shopping, and getting people to try things like lentils.]

20. Who else would you like to participate?

Has to be somebody else with a blog, right? OK, I tag Marsha at the Abarbablog.