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Texture, Colour, and Flavour on Your Plate

In my column “Eats and Treats,” found in the spring 2019 issue of Prairies North, the magazine of Saskatchewan, I share the recipe for a delicious, stuffed pork loin roast and refer readers to my website for the other recipes featured in the menu. 

Although my son-in-law believes that meat is the only part of any meal that matters, side dishes contribute texture, colour, flavour, and nutrition to the presentation. In the spring issue, I have added crunch and a splash of vibrant orange to the plate with Colourful Carrot Raisin Salad. Having a container of this salad on hand is great for lunches; it keeps for up to three days. Of course, Simply Delicious Coleslaw keeps for ten days and would also be tasty with the roast featured in the magazine. 

A little deep purple and some savoury flavour can be added by serving Baked Beets and Onions. This dish can be made the evening before and reheated while the roast is resting. I freeze leftovers of this recipe with great success. 

Oven Baked Rice Medley can also be made ahead and microwaved to reheat. You can bake rice in broth, juice, or water. Baking rice is fast and easy. Add one cup of rice to two cups of boiling liquid, cover the dish, and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. If you plan to serve this rice the next day, cook it a few minutes less, refrigerate, and reheat in a microwave oven. 

Once you make Perfect Microwaved Cheese Sauce, you will never prepare it any other way. Pour sauce over lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower, or serve it on the side, allowing your guests the choice. 

Unsweetened applesauce is a nice addition to this meal. I often prepare a pickle tray as well. 

Of course, a flavourful, light dessert that is cooling to the palate makes a perfect ending to any hot, delicious meal. Six Minute Lemon Pie Filling can be served parfait-style in your antique stemware or as the filling for a lemon meringue pie.

Click on the recipes mentioned above when you are ready to make the easy sides featured in my column, “Eats and Treats.”

In April, I will be giving subscriptions to Prairies North Magazine to a few lucky From the Cookie Jar subscribers, in celebration of my sixth anniversary of blogging. To learn more about my blog, click HERE.

No matter where you live, you can subscribe to Prairies North Magazine. If you are outside of Canada, and many of my readers are, you will receive the link to four digital issues in your inbox. If you are within Canada, your printed issues will arrive in your postbox. Happy reading! Happy eating!

Six Minute Lemon Pie Filling

Altitude affects the consistency of this recipe. I live on the prairies and add more cornstarch to less water when making this at home. When visiting the mountains, I make it with no changes. This filling can be served in stemware as a refreshing change of taste after a heavy meal. Add a dollop of whipped cream and a shortbread biscuit to dress it up. It can also be added to a baked pie crust and topped with meringue. Read The Trouble With Getting High for more about my adventures with this recipe.

Ingredients:

1½ cups of sugar

⅓ cup of cornstarch (add a bit more on the prairies)

1½ cups of boiling water (use a bit less on the prairies)

3 egg yolks beaten; save the whites for meringue

3 tablespoons of butter

¼ cup of lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 baked nine-inch pie crust

Always prepare your ingredients ahead, when using the microwave. There is no time between cooking stages to squeeze lemons. 

Method:

Mix sugar and cornstarch thoroughly in an eight-cup, glass, measuring bowl. Stir in the boiling water. Microwave on high power for 2½ minutes. Stir.

Continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring and checking for consistency after 30 seconds. 

Beat a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Add the warmed yolks back into the cornstarch mixture. Cook another 30 seconds on high. 

Blend butter, lemon juice, and lemon peel into the sugar mixture. Cool.

Pour into a cooled, baked pie crust. Cover with meringue and brown in the oven. 

Meringue:

Whip the three egg whites until frothy and add ¼ cup of sugar slowly while still beating. 

When peaks form, pile meringue on the pie and bake in a 400°F oven for 5 minutes. Once cooled, keep this treat in the refrigerator. 

Baked Beets and Onions

Baked Beets and Onions

I have converted many beet-haters into beet-lovers by serving this dish. One of my readers tried this recipe using assorted beet varieties and told me it was delicious. She grows golden beets, and her family enjoys them each fall until they are gone. She says It would be nice to have too many so that she could share. 

I usually use a food processor to slice raw beets. 

Ingredients:

4 to 5 medium beets (about 1½ pounds), sliced

1 medium-sized sweet onion, sliced

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons of sugar

Method:

In a 1½-quart casserole, layer half of the beets and ½ of the onion. Using a pastry brush, coat this layer lightly with melted butter. Sprinkle half of the sugar over this layer.

Repeat with the rest of the beets and onions.

Coat this layer with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cover the baking dish. 

Bake the beets and onions in a 350° F oven for one hour or until beets are fork tender. The beets and onions can take an hour and a half to cook. Your kitchen will smell divine. 

This amount serves four people. 

NOTE: 

For a larger group, double the recipe.  Make it ahead, refrigerate until ready to serve, and warm at 350°F for 30 minutes. 

Colourful Carrot Raisin Salad

Most people have tasted this salad, even if it was long ago. Serving Carrot Raisin Salad always results in the sharing of food memories. It makes a colourful addition to a plate of food. 

½ cup raisins

1½ cups raw carrot, grated

¼ cup of mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of sugar

¼ teaspoon of salt

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, and salt, using a small whisk. Wash raisins, and remove stems. Toss carrot, raisins, and dressing together. This salad can be made several hours in advance and refrigerated until serving. 

Tip: Serve portions on individual side plates on top of lettuce leaves. I love this old fashioned salad with roast pork, quiche, turkey pie, or a sandwich. 

Delicious Date Bites

I recommend having a box of Medjool dates in your pantry or refrigerator. They make a satisfying dessert with a cup of tea. They are sweet, chewy, and jam-packed with vitamins and minerals. Take time to read the package because they have an expiry date. The average Medjool date has 66 calories and more food value than you will find in most other small snacks. You can usually find them in the produce department in a plastic cube box. 

My friend Sakina was born in Morocco and makes delicious, exotic treats. She often incorporates walnuts, ground almonds, dates, and spices. I learn something new from her at each visit. She introduced me to orange blossom water, which I was able to buy at Super Store. Sakina prepares a tray of 18 or more dates by washing them, splitting them with a paring knife, and removing the pits. She then dips them in orange flower water and places them on a tray to dry. You can also use a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you prefer. She stuffs a half walnut into each date and pinches the sides together. These delights will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. 

A tea party at Sakina’s involves a tray of small bites, much like my mother used to serve for breakfast; for more small bite ideas read Breakfast Tea.  

Visit HERE for even more recipe ideas as well as stories about production and quality.

Mind Blowing Caramel Coconut Icing

Every fall I receive beets from my friend Aline, and I make several Beet and Carrot Cakes to place in my freezer. In response to my past blog about Beet and Carrot Cake, I received many comments and emails. Aline told me her recipe for Beet and Carrot Cake was identical to mine, but her icing was entirely different. She shared that recipe with me, and I am grateful.  

This year, I did a comparative test with tea time visitors. Each person received two pieces of my beet and carrot cake, one with cream cheese glaze and the other with Mind Blowing Caramel Coconut Icing. Our young friend took a bite of the caramel coconut topped cake, and, as he chewed, his expression brightened and he said, “Wow! That is good. It totally surprised me.” 

If I hadn’t told my guests we were testing one cake recipe with two different toppings, they would have thought the cakes were different too. Give this recipe a try, and let me know your thoughts by commenting below.    

Caramel Coconut Icing Ingredients: 

Make this icing as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. It is best to apply this icing to a warm cake. 

10 tablespoons of brown sugar

4 tablespoons of butter

6 tablespoons of cream (I used whipping cream)

1¼ cups of unsweetened shredded coconut

Place the above ingredients in a saucepan and stir until the mixture boils. Continue boiling for 3 minutes.   

Spread the icing on the warm cake. 

Return the cake to the oven and broil until the icing has browned. In my oven, the broiling step requires just over two minutes. Keep an eye on the process to avoid burning.

Patterns for Simple Gingerbread Houses

My Eats and Treats column for the winter 2018 issue of Prairies North Magazine is titled Starter Home - Gingerbread Style. To accompany that article, I am sharing a few ideas about making gingerbread house patterns. 

Designing a bungalow pattern is easy. Start with a pad of graph paper. If this is your first attempt, count out a rectangle that is 34 squares wide and 22 squares high, which provides a template for the front and back of the bungalow.

Draw the narrower ends of the house, beginning with a 22 X 22 square box. From the center top of the square, count up 13 squares. This creates the pitch of the roof. You will cut two of these pieces, creating the two ends. Add a hole in the lower third of the back. This opening will allow the lights to enter the building.  

Draw a rectangle for the roof, a little longer than the house and broader than the roof pitch. An overhang is a good idea in case the gingerbread pieces shrink while baking. 

Cut windows and doors as you like. Roll the dough on parchment paper and use a paring knife to cut away the windows and doors you have planned. You can also add a few windows or enlarge them at this stage. If you change your mind, crumple the dough into a ball and reroll.  

If you aren't sure about the pattern you have made, tape the pieces together to check on your plan. 

Use your dough scraps to cut out people, trees, or even a fence. The children who help decorate the house will find a way to use everything you provide. 

A-frames have fewer pieces than bungalows. They are simple and fun to decorate. You must cut the roof piece twice and cut the house front again, to create a back, adding a hole in the back piece for inserting a string of lights. An A-frame roof looks spectacular shingled in shredded wheat, chocolate squares, liquorice all sorts or tiny wafers. A sprinkling of icing sugar looks like freshly fallen snow.  

Click on GB1 and GB2 for printable pieces, but every printer is different. The roof measures 9 3/4" by 7 1/2" while the base of the triangular front and back pieces measure 7 1/4" across the bottom. This A-frame results in a 9" house, measured from the base to the pointed roof.   

There are many patterns available online. Enjoy the process and become more adventurous each year. Take pictures. 

REMEMBER: It isn’t the size of your house that makes it memorable but rather the fun and love that goes into building it. 

Vintage Half Hour Pudding

My husband, the boy from the Get a Bigger Wagon stories, truly loves this pudding. He keeps the leftovers in the fridge and happily warms further servings in the microwave. He assures me that this pudding keeps well for three days. 

I found the original recipe, written in fountain pen, in my mother’s personal cookbook, which she started in 1947. The recipe called for butter “the size of an egg” to be added to the sauce. I use two tablespoons of butter. My mother had made a note in the margin of her recipe saying that 2 cups of water was too much. My father preferred a more sticky pudding. I use 1¾ cups of water and like the resulting thicker sauce. 

This pudding cooks at 350°F for 30 minutes, so I often bake other dishes at the same time. For example, my Oven-Baked Rice Medley requires the same time and temperature. 

I keep this recipe handy, in case we spontaneously invite guests to stay for dinner. It serves six to eight people. 

Vintage Half Hour Pudding

Preheat oven to 350° F

Pudding:

1 cup of flour

¾ of a cup of white sugar

½ cup of milk

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ cup of dates, chopped

Mix the above ingredients and spoon into a greased dish (1.5 quarts). 

Sauce:

1 cup of brown sugar

1¾ cups of boiling water 

2 tablespoons of butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Pour the sauce over the batter, and place the dish in a 350°F oven. Bake the pudding for 30 minutes. The pudding will rise through the sauce allowing yummy delicious caramel taste to surround each bite. 

L to R Vintage Half Hour Pudding, pork chops, baked rice in broth  

Caramel Puffed Rice Cake

The Boy, of "Get a Bigger Wagon" fame, loves this treat!

Measure six or seven cups of puffed rice (not Rice Krispies) into a large mixing bowl.

Mix the following ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil for two minutes.

½ cup corn syrup

½ cup butter

1-cup brown sugar

1-teaspoon vanilla

Pour the brown sugar sauce over the puffed rice and mix well. 

With damp hands, press the puffed rice mixture, evenly, into a buttered 9 by 13-inch cake pan. If you prefer a thicker cake, use a smaller pan. Cool the cake, then cover it with plastic wrap to keep it moist. 

Tip:

This sauce is lovely over puffed wheat as well. For contrast, try Best Chocolatey Puffed Wheat Cake Ever.  

Gertrude's Marinated Onion Slices

Our friend Gertrude made three batches of these onions in one week because my eldest daughter ate them, enthusiastically, on everything. My daughter was ten years old, at the time, and we were visiting Gertrude at the lake. This recipe is simple and the onions are delicious!!  

Prepare Onions:

Slice one large, sweet onion, thinly

Cover the sliced onions in cold water and let them stand for one hour

Prepare Brine:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup of cold water

1 tablespoon of salad oil

In a medium-sized pot, heat and stir the above ingredients until the sugar dissolves and the brine comes to a boil. 

After one hour, drain the onions. Place the onions in a clean jar. Pour the brine over the onions and refrigerate for at least one day, before serving.