A Plethora of Pretty Pickles

I am a vinegar addict. Thinking about the mass amount of the stuff I consume not only in it's natural, liquidy state but also in foods and condiments, I could probably keep the industry in business. Or not. I assume it's a pretty big business, given the French fry / potato chip popularity out there. Usually I'm getting my "sour fix" via one of two items - mustard (any kind - we have 4!) or pickles. As a kid, I would regularly ask for my hot dogs or burgers with "just mustard", extra pickles and tomato. Maybe lettuce and onion, if it was on offer, but always mustard and pickles! Clearly, both have been dear loves of mine forever (you may recall my earlier pickle (and pepper)-obsession post), but it was only last year that I branched out into actually making my own pickles.

Good thing, too... because I also planted dill and cucumbers that year, and though neither crop actually took hold, the delicious, super-ripe cukes I scored from the Brick Works farmers market downtown were more than sufficient. Either way, it was an opportunity to dip my toes into the world of preserving the harvest without resorting to mass freezing, and the copius amounts of another favourite - garlic - didn't hurt matters at all!

I did go a tad bit overboard this year, although in a sense I had to (yes, the excuses reign supreme). I replanted the cucumbers and dill this year, not really knowing if I'd face the same climate-related issues as last year. As always, I dug in my heirloom tomatoes, purple carrots and candy-cane beets, as well as picking up a new veggie to try: watermelon radishes! Well, lo and behold, every freaking thing I planted (excepting my groundcherries... *sob*) took hold like nothing else. All of a sudden, the radish greens were the size of lettuces, the beets were crowding and the dill was as high as my shoulder. And can we talk about the cucumbers?? Holy moley, in just my 4 plants (the stepdad has 4 of "his" ones that he can let over-ripen to his heart's content), in one harvest session, I scored just under 11 pounds of them. All ready at once. What would you have done? I wasn't about to let them get the "zucchini treatment" where you can allow them to balloon as big as your leg and drop the flavourless log on a neighbour's porch. I wanted to taste my cukes. Enjoy them. In the best way I knew how, which also happens to be the best keeping way I knew how. Yup, you guessed it - it was pickle time again!

I decided to do two different styles of cucumber pickle this year, both because I lacked the resources and the energy to take care of everything at once, and I wanted to be mindful of the storage space I'd have to allocate to whatever I made. So I started with the easier, faster ones first - refrigerator cured, deliciously garlicky and definitely dilly (you can shoot me for the corny alliterations later). Those beauties took up four litres or so, and have found suitable "aging" space in the back of our basement's fridge. But really - the fridge is full enough as it is down there (especially after a shopping trip) and since I had both jars and equipment for canning (finally got a jar lifter!) I figured I would do the rest of the batch as canned dills and store them in our cantina. For the canned ones, I added a good deal more garlic, like vampire-repellent amounts, and also spiked the jars with chili peppers, mustard seed and turmeric. I'm not sure where I read it, but I knew that grape leaves helped keep canned pickles crunchy (and possibly it's a memory of my grandma's ones that had that element). Problem is, grape leaves aren't exactly in the produce aisle at the Superstore, nor are they usually on hand at the farmer's market. So if you really wanted to source them, you'd have to find a vineyard willing to part with a few.

Oh wait - we have a vinyard! If nothing else, thank goodness for my stepdad's green thumb - he can make pretty much anything grow, even lemons and killer eggplant, and apart from having "fruiting" zucchini so far this year I have to give him credit - his success rate is pretty good. So boo-yeah for grape leaves! Did I ask? Are you nuts? No way, these were pilfered. Unabashedly. And it's not like he's going to be eating tany of them anyway, so who needs to know?

That left my harvest basket with a small handful of baby beets I thinned out, a few carrots and a good haul of (very) large radishes. The radish greens, a request by Mr. Foodie411 himself, I blanched and froze in a Ziploc, and while pondering the fate of the bulbs (and staring at the jars of cooling dills) it hit me. Pickled radishes are delicious in their own right - think takuan at sushi restaurants, while the beets and carrots added a gorgeous colour and a pop of earthy sweetness. I opted to go the sweet/sour route this time, with Asian rice vinegar, and layered in thin-sliced fresh ginger too - another of my favourite sushi noshes (I always ask for extra).

So now I've eliminated the glut of pickle-able goodness for another week or so. Good thing I a) have so many great friends willing to take jars off my hands and b) I can eat through a jar myself every few weeks!

All I Can Say Is...

LOL.

Thanks to Gilding Calm for sharing this, and to Huffington Post for posting the YouTube vid!

A Bittah Bettah Buttah

How can I possibly describe these things? I mean, really... just saying that they're "Black Bottomed Banana Bars" would be doing the whole shebang a major disservice. They are so much more than that - and as anyone who's ever indulged in a peanut butter, Nutella and banana sandwich knows (what... that's just me? You HAVE to try it!), somewhere in that simple marriage of ingredients a spark of magic happens. The ingredients no longer define themselves as parts of a whole. They are the whole. When the balance of each element is spot-on, not the hardest thing in the world mind you, bitter, salt, sweet and creamy notes hit your tongue at exactly the same time, and it can blow you away. Trust me.

Oddly enough, even though I do have the original source of the recipe I worked off of (a Taste of Home magazine published in April / May 1994), I have no idea as to what sparked me to look it up in my ancient cache of magazine clippings. I know I'd spotted it on a few blogs, and probably have an electronic copy saved somewhere now, but regardless I've made a few changes to the original. For one, I halved the recipe. Anyone who knows this household knows we have a bit of a penchant for chocolate, peanut butter and bananas. The second thing I did was decrease the sugar a tad... nothing new in this kitchen. The last thing was the kicker - and I swear what sealed the fate of these bars forever. I added  a little bit of a bettah buttah. Yes... smooth, unctuous peanut butter got to play the game, in more ways than one! I chopped up some peanuts for the "blonde" top layer too, finally crowning the whole pan off with a mess of the best legal crack (IMHO) there is - diced, miniature peanut butter cups. The cups made the top of the bars look like the surface of the moon before they baked, like skyscrapers poking up from and into the raw dough.

But after? Well, all I can say is, look. And drool. Because every time you bite into one of those little craters of molten, peanutty decadence, it's like you're discovering a motherlode of diamonds. Over and over again.

Bettah Buttah Banana Bars

Serves 12

3 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 large, over-ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

10 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease an 8" square pan.
2. In a bowl, beat butter, peanut butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and bananas, beating well.
4. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, blending gently but thoroughly.
5. Divide batter in half.
6. To one portion of dough, add cocoa and stir in thoroughly.
7. To the other portion of dough, fold in chopped peanuts.
8. Spread chocolate batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with peanut batter and sprinkle with peanut butter cups.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
10. Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 171.8

Total Fat: 8.0 g

Cholesterol: 8.1 mg

Sodium: 33.3 mg

Total Carbs: 24.4 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g

Protein: 3.8 g

Two Kinds of Crunchy

I've come to the conclusion that, at a bakesale, there are two very distinct and very stubborn types of people present in any given sampling of people. There are the brownie and cake people, and there are the cookie people. I suppose if you want you can throw in the "tart" people too, but they generally will defer to one side or the other when forced to choose. Then of course, those two groups are subdivided further, forming those that like "crunchy things" in their treats and those who, like my sister and I, prefer their sweet noshings au naturel.

I used to think most people fell into my own camp - the cakey-pure-preferably chocolate group - but apparently I was quite mistaken! Especially when it came to pleasing my classmates, With few exceptions, I would get requests for "a banana cake, or something, with nuts", or a crispy cookie-like treat, over the most delicious plain brownies I could churn out. Even crunchy oatmeal-raisin-walnut cookies even went quickly, which is odd to a girl whose oatmeal cookies better be chewy and packed with chocolate chips and plump raisins. Dry raisins? Deal killer.

My mom's office is a little more "forgiving" in their clientele's palates, luckily. I know that generally, as long as it's not pie (apparently they are not pie people!) I can tote or send in anything with a decent dose of sugar and it will be decimated by the next morning. Like me, anything with chocolate is a bonus too, but they're equally happy with something new and potentially untried that appears in the break room. Apparently, they like being guinea pigs taste testers!

Well, fine then, I figured - let's test out the crunchy factor with both camps of people: cake and cookie! I had a small box of both Kashi's "honey almond flax" and "toasted berry crisp" granolas in my pantry, left over from the Food Show back in March (and no it wasn't 4 months old - these recipes were actually made in late April! Can you tell I'm a bit behind?), and it was mighty crunchy! I also had some shredded carrots taking up space in my freezer from last year's harvest, and with no requests for carrot cake in sight I figured I should probably find a way to use it too!

Since carrot cake always seems to have something crunchy in it - usually nuts of some kind or another - I figured that an almond cereal would fit right in! Looking for something "unique" to use everything in, I stumbled onto a RecipeZaar recipe for something called "Indian Carrot Bread" which was unlike any recipe I had ever seen before! This one had cooked carrot shreds and cornmeal in it to add texture and flavour, and though there weren't any nuts or crunch factors at all, I figured I'd chuck in some cereal and go with it!More modifications ensued, with more carrots and a good glug of almond milk instead of plain. The resulting  (and surprisingly low-fat) concoction was very much a cake - I would never have termed it a "bread" even though it's baked in a loaf pan - and was so insanely moist that I almost destroyed it when I turned it out onto it's cooling rack. I would say fork-eating this is essential, though frosting isn't - extra plus!

Crunchy "Indian" Carrot Loaf Cake
Serves 12
3 cups grated carrots
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 1/3 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup Kashi Honey Almond Flax granola (or your favourite granola)

1. Preheat oven to 325F, grease a loaf pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine carrots and water.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes - until the liquid has almost evaporated completely and carrots are falling apart.
4. Reduce heat to low and mix in the honey, brown sugar, cornmeal and milk.
5. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
6. Stir in the flours, baking soda and baking powder, then fold in the granola.
7. Place on the bottom rack of the oven and bake 1 hour 25 minutes - 1 1/2 hours, until a tester yields moist crumbs but not batter.
8. Cool in the pan 15 minutes before gently unmoulding.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 140.0
Total Fat: 1.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 51.1 mg
Total Carbs: 30.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g
Protein: 3.6 g

For the cookie camp, I wound up defaulting to my mom's tried-and-true "crunchy" oatmeal cookie as a base recipe. Apparently she has a "chewy" version stashed somewhere too, but in all my searching I have been unable to find a trace of it... I'm starting to think it's a fable. At any rate, I halved the recipe, using the berry granola instead of the oats and Demerara sugar instead of her standard "golden". Still fresh off my nutrition-school high, I also added some currants, protein packed, dry-toasted soy "nuts" and a bit of textured vegetable protein crumbles.

Why? Well, honestly, I just wanted to see if they worked in a cookie application! Not adding any flavour of their own, they easily paired with the granola as a kind of "cereal", even toasting crispy in the oven while keeping the centre of the cookies from becoming rock hard. Since the nutrition profile of TVP was pretty rosy vitamin, iron, fibre and protein-wise (being formed out of de-fatted soy flour, after all) I would definitely try a half and half ratio with oats in "breakfast" cookies or power bars too (huh, would you look at that... I did that already!)! In fact, I know it's a great addition to oats for breakfast as well - the blandness really helps carry other flavours, and when you're battling with nausea or just not being hungry it's a great "sneak-in" - even when you know it's there!

So that was your nutritionist talking... now the baker in me takes over. Eat cookies, be happy, try new things, never apologize. Especially when the results disappear in a flash!

Crunchy Kashi Cookies
Makes 18
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup Demerara sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup Kashi Toasted Berry Crisp (or granola)
1/4 cup TVP granules, dry
1 1/2 cups currants, soaked in hot water and drained
1/2 cup toasted soynuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease two cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl cream shortening and sugars.
3. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.
4. Add flour, baking soda, pie spice and salt, stir in until just blended.
5. Fold in the cereal, TVP, currants and soynuts.
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on sheets.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 189.7
Total Fat: 7.3 g
Cholesterol: 11.8 mg
Sodium: 14.8 mg
Total Carbs: 27.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
Protein: 4.1 g

Lasagne Day

My mom and I used to make lasagne for our family once every few months. It was a kind of ritual for us - from fighting to keep most of the noodles intact from box to pot to strainer to pan, to mom's occasional half-hearted swats at me as I'd sneak pieces of pasta out of the colander or shreds of cheese out from under the grater, to finally the breathless awe of the family when my mom finally pulled out the Pyrex dish from the oven and cut that first, cheesy piece. Even though I was a part of the process of making the dish, for the longest time, I never truly understood what lasagne was, in essence. Because it's more than just a melange of pasta, sauce and cheese that makes the meal... it's the melange of love, learning, teaching, laughter and patience too. A lasagne put together by a cook or a family that loves the end recipient always has that "little bit more" to it than even the fanciest truffle and foie gras stuffed concoction - it sounds corny but the feelings of the cook season the dish more than salt ever will.

So today, being National Lasagne Day, I'm sharing with you a recipe by one of the most dedicated family men I have the privilege of knowing: Darryl Koster of Buster Rhino's BBQ. His recipe is unique in it's short list of ingredients (including his secret Southern brisket!), yet it's unusual components perfectly mesh into a delicious, rich, cheesy whole. If you're fortunate enough to live near an area that carries his sauce (or even better, his establishment's meat!) you definitely should check it out!

Do you have a favourite family recipe you enjoy cooking with each other, or for each other?

Buster's BBQ Lasagne
Serves 10
1 tbsp olive oil
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
6 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1lb cooked, Southern BBQ Beef Brisket, chopped
6 cups spaghetti sauce (Darryl uses homemade, for NI purposes I used Prego traditional)
12 oz fresh Mozzarella, shredded
1 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb lasagne noodles, cooked just shy of al dente and drained

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat oil in a medium sized pan.
3. Add onion and cook, stirring, until translucent.
4. Add mushrooms and pepper, continue cooking until the onions are caramelized.
5. Stir in red wine to deglaze the pan and set aside.
6. Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13" dish with sauce.
7. Layer noodles, sauce, vegetables, brisket, mozzarella cheese and Romano cheese until everything has been used.
8. The top of the lasagne should be 1 layer of noodles, a thin layer of sauce, and all the Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until a nice brown crust has formed on the top, rotating the pan 1/2 way through the baking time.
10. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 673.9
Total Fat: 27.7 g
Cholesterol: 97.6 mg
Sodium: 1,627.0 mg
Total Carbs: 62.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.1 g
Protein: 39.0 g