Maple Syrup (Week 20 - Canada)

My husband’s mother was born in Canada, and it is a country he has always wanted to visit – in part to that connection. Family history has that his Grandfather was in the Mounties, so it was interesting to learn that they were established in 1873; maybe one day we will be able to verify that.  We certainly enjoyed the fish and meat pie dish. The fish would have scored more, but our son had too much hot sauce so reduced his score, otherwise it would have got 90 from my husband and I. We loved it, and enjoyed the mess we got in eating it. The weather was good on the Sunday we had this so ate it outside, wonderful. The Nanaimo bars were not so great, although we loved making them. But, I confess, I didn’t follow the recipe I made up my own version and I think that reflects in the score. Our son loved the squishy mess that ours turned out because they didn’t set properly.

 

As for the date slices, I knew I would love them before I made them as my mother has been making these ever since I was a little girl. She has the recipe on a scrap of paper and cannot recall where it came from, now I know but how she discovered it remains a mystery probably a magazine. I love them; my son doesn’t like dates so didn’t score them at all as he didn’t eat them. I made less of the mixture than normal and increased the amount of dates and this went down well with my husband who normally finds them a little messy.

 

Both my husband and son liked the idea of the Poutine; but we never did it – somehow I just could imagine that it would be nice or even look nice. I am not a cheese eater, but even so it just seemed wrong. I will remember it though, and maybe one Saturday snack time I will surprise them with it.

 

Lastly I found some maple-syrup smoked bacon and treated the family to bacon and maple muffins for breakfast, wrapped in a napkin. Lovely.... Next week we are coming back to Europe and visiting Denmark.

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Nanaimo Bars………………………...……………………63

Tourtiere……………………………………..………………86

Date Slices……………………………………………………80

Salmon Sandwiches………………………..……………83

Wanted to cook:

Poutine

Nanaimo Bars
These bars take their name from the city in British Columbia. They consist of three layers: a crunchy base that might feature chopped nuts, a custardy middle part, and a chocolate top.

Recipe Source: adapted lightly from Joy of Baking

16 Servings

Ingredients

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup salted butter, diced into pieces

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1  1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (biscuit crumbs)

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or almonds (I used pecan cookie pieces)

Filling

1/3 cup salted butter, softened

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp custard powder or vanilla/white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups powdered sugar

Top Layer

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

2 Tbsp salted butter 

 

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add in brown sugar and cocoa powder and whisk until well combined. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in beaten egg. Return mixture to heat and cook for 1 - 2 minutes until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Add in graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and pecans and toss until evenly coated. Press mixture into a buttered 8 by 8-inch or 9 by 9-inch baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, place in freezer for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 40 minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl, using and electric hand mixer set on medium speed, whip together butter, heavy cream and custard powder until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar and blend until mixture is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute (mixture may seem dry at first but should start to come together). Spread mixture into an even layer over chilled graham cracker base. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Melt semi-sweet chocolate along with butter in a heat proof bowl, set over a pot of simmering water. Spread mixture into an even layer over filling layer, cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes until chocolate has set. Cut into squares, store in an airtight container. 

Tourtiere

A chap from Montreal, Ryk Edelstein, did his tourtière homework several years back. He gathered a handful of recommended recipes from various Québec regions -try about eleven- and proceeded to make them all. Twice. Ryk used as many ovens as he could convince his friends and family to allow, and twenty-two meat pies later, he narrowed down the recipes to two or three favorites. Here is one of them:

Serves: two 9-inch meat pies

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ground pork, (or mixture of pork and beef) ideally organic & local

1 1/2 cups cold water (Could use chicken stock)

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped celery (you could also include diced carrots)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 bay leafs

1 teaspoon dried savory

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Pastry for two double-crust, 9-inch pies

1 egg, beaten, for glaze

 

Instructions

1. In a large, heavy frying pan, combine pork with cold water and heat to boiling point. It should be slightly soupy.
2. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay leaf, savory, rosemary, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 1 ¼ hours; stir often. Add more water if mixture dries out. Halfway through cooking time, season with salt to taste.
3. Stir in rolled oats and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bay leaf and allow to cool. Setting the entire pot in the snow bank speeds up this process!
   Meanwhile, line two 9-inch pie plates with pastry. When meat mixture is lukewarm, divide it between two pie shells and spread it out evenly.
   Brush around outer edge of pastry with the beaten egg. Place top crust on the tart and press gently around the edge to seal. Trim pastry, crimp edges and cut steam vents in top crust. Decorate as desired.
4. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F and bake another 25 minutes or until crust is golden.
   
   

Date Slices

Ingredients

Servings 16

8 ounces dates, cut up

1 tablespoon brown sugar

¹⁄₂ cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda

¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt

³⁄₄ cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups oats (not instant)

 

1. Combine dates, 1 TBSP brown sugar, and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and cook, stirring often, until dates are soft enough to be mashed with a fork. Set aside.
2. In mixer bowl, blend flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in brown sugar and oats. Do not over mix as the mixture should stay crumbly.
3. Press half (I always put in more than half) of crumb mixture over bottom of lightly buttered 8x8-inch pan to form bottom crust. Gently spread date filling over bottom crust. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over date filling. Lightly pat with palm of hand to even out.
4. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely and cut into squares.
     

Hot-Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Source: www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/world-famous-hot-smoked-salmon-sandwich/14082

Ingredients:

16 oz salmon fillet, skin off, bones out (always use wild-caught Oceanwise sockeye or coho)

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup coarse salt

Spicy Mayo

½ cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Sriracha (or to taste) [I made my own: white wine vinegar, chilli flakes, maple syrup]

Maple Mustard Cole Slaw

(I did my own thing here; I shredded some carrots and radishes and mixed that with mayo and maple syrup)

½ heads Savoy cabbage, shredded

2 ½ Tbsp yellow mustard

2 ½ Tbsp maple syrup

1 ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

⅔ cup mayonnaise

Portuguese Buns & Assembly

4 buns (60% whole wheat content adds a nice degree of heartiness)

 

Method:

1. Cut salmon into 4-oz portions, sized for a bun. Prepare brine mixture and massage over salmon and put in fridge. The mix will liquefy into a brine. Mix occasionally to ensure salmon is covered with brine.
2. While brining, prepare the Spicy Mayo by mixing all the ingredients until well-combined and Slaw. The same for the maple mustard cole slaw.  After about an hour, wash brine off under running water and prepare to cook.
3. If you have a smoker, load it with cherry wood and fire it up, bringing the temp to about 350ºF. Put salmon on racks and bake/smoke for approximately 15 minutes. The salmon will be done when the outside begins to firm up and you can see a bit of the fat come to the surface.
4. If you don't have a smoker, you can use a cedar plank on a BBQ at home. Soak the cedar plank in water for an hour so when you put it on your grill it doesn't immediately catch fire. Get your BBQ up to about 350ºF (lid closed) and cook the salmon directly on the cedar plank. Again, the salmon will be done in about 15 minutes. Try not to overcook.
5. [if like me you have neither of these then I cooked in it the over – to add some smokiness, I did include some maple syrup in the mixture when cooking]
6. Toast bun and add spicy mayo to bottom portion of bun and slaw to the top. Salmon goes in the middle. Make sure you have napkins handy!
    

Poutine ervings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

Makes 4 servings

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1 (10.25 ounce) can beef gravy

5 medium potatoes cut into fries

2 cups cheese curds

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). While the oil is heating, you can begin to warm your gravy.
2. Place the fries into the hot oil, and cook until light brown, about 5 minutes. Make the fries in batches if necessary to allow them room to move a little in the oil. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
3. Place the fries on a serving platter, and sprinkle the cheese over them. Ladle gravy over the fries and cheese, and serve immediately.

Variations:

Add cut up cooked chicken or hamburger.

Use shredded mozzarella cheese in place of cheese curds.

Italian Poutine: Substitute marinara for gravy.

BBQ Poutine: Substitute a light BBQ sauce for gravy. 

Canada is a very large, but sparsely populated country. The northern part is cold, wild and mountainous, so most people live in the larger cities which are close to the American border. Canada is wealthy due to its natural resources, with exports of oil and timber the most significant. Canada has more lakes and waterways than anywhere else in the world. It is famous for the Niagara Falls, which it shares with America. The Canadians section is known as the Horseshoe Falls.

Canada is famous for its maple syrup. This golden brown sauce practically lines the shelves of Canadian tourist shops. Maple syrup is the sap of the sugar maple tree and it takes approximately 43 gallons of sap to produce a single gallon of syrup

 

Rumbling Tummy (Week 19 - Hungary)

OUR EXPERIENCE

Oo we had all the jokes about Hungary, as you can imagine from a 7 year old. “Mum I have a joke, where do you go when you want something to eat”, I reply simply “The Kitchen”, “No” he says with glee “Hungary” pause then “Hungary, do you get it” Yes I think, I got it the last 6 times you said it!

My mums old recipe book had Paprika Chicken and I liked the way to thicken the sauce, but it was a little bland so I searched for another recipe and the one I did tasted a lot better, although I didn’t stick to it completely. I even made the dumpling things, which I left to cook while the phone rang and they doubled in size! I am so glad I left them, as I don’t think that would have happened had I been watching them. The stuffed peppers recipe, was really nice, and it did make a difference if you cooked the peppers for that short while before popping them in the oven. We enjoyed the stew, which I did with carrots and cabbage as they seemed appropriate for Hungary, even though the weather was good outside we all tucked into it. I was tempted by the cake, but previous countries cakes have not all been finished, no wonder we have about 4 different birds’ nests in our tiny estate garden! So, I will leave it for another day – plus the fact it is yeast based and I only ever have success with yeast recipes if it is sunny. I could have tried a Dobos Torta, but we are not really a family of chocolate cake lovers and I didn’t think the birds. On the whole we have liked what we have had, my son is quite willing to go to Hungary when he needs something to eat, rather than the kitchen. 

We are off over the Atlantic next week to Canada, a place both my husband and I would like to visit, My husband has more reason than I do as his mother was born there – interesting she and I share the same birthday.

 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Stuffed pimentos…………………………………………………………66

Paprika Chicken with Spaetzle ……………………………………88

Marha-Porkolt-(Beef-Paprika-Stew)….…………………………88

Wanted to cook:

Monkey Bread 

 

Stuffed Pimentos

Mums Cook Book

Ingredients

6 fresh pimentos (peppers)

Stuffing

¾ lb chopped pork (or you could use tofu of substitute with sweat potato for a Veg option)

1 small chopped onion

2 tbsp cooked rice

Pepper, salt, Garlic

Lard for frying (veg friendly!)

1 egg

Sauce

1oz flour

1oz lard

1 dessertspoon sugar

1 ¼ pints water or stock

Salt and pepper

1 cup tomato puree

 

Method

1. Fry onion lightly in lard, add garlic and rice and mix well with meat, egg salt and pepper.
2. Open pimentos from the stalk side; remove the stalk and seeds and dip the pimentos in boiling water for 1 minute. When cold, stuff with the mixture.
3. For the sauce, heat lard; add flour and fry without browning; add water or stock and tomato puree.
4. Season with salt, pepper and sugar and mix, bring to the boil. Add the pimento, cooking for 30 mins.
    
    

Marha-Porkolt-(Beef-Paprika-Stew)

Source: http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen

2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive)

1 large onion, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 lb. beef stew meat

2 tbsp sweet (mild) paprika - Hungarian paprika is best

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 large tomato, cored and chopped (I used a tin of chopped tomatoes)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)


Total Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

Servings: 4

1. In a large sauté pan, heat canola oil over medium. Add minced onion and sauté for about 8 minutes till softened. Add the garlic and green bell pepper. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes till garlic is fragrant and bell pepper is tender-crisp.
2. Add the beef to the pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-6 more minutes, stirring twice, till meat is browned.
3. Sprinkle paprika and caraway seeds evenly across the top of the meat. Add diced tomatoes to the pan. Pour 4-5 cups of hot water into the pan, till the meat is almost covered. Stir and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover to pan. Let the mixture simmer slowly for about 90-100 minutes, replenishing the water as needed to keep it from getting dry.
5. The stew is ready when the meat is fork tender and the sauce is thick. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste before serving, if desired. Serve over spaetzle, potatoes, rice or noodles.
    
    

Chicken Paprikash With Spaetzle

Source: Mark Kovach The dumplings are not called "spaetzle" it is a German term, but the method is Hungarian

Chicken

1 -3 lb chicken parts

1 medium onion, diced

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons butter / margarine

1 tablespoon oil

4 -6 cups water

Chicken bouillon cube (not necessary with large amount of chicken) (optional)

1 (8 -16 ounce) container sour cream

Spaetzle

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup (4oz) and 2 eggs, which was enough for 3 adults)

2 -6 eggs

salt and pepper

 

Directions.

1. Start by heating the oil in a large pot and browning your chicken parts. Remove the chicken and add the butter or margarine to the pot.Sauté the onion in the melted butter until transparent.
2. Add paprika, chicken, and water, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 45 minutes. Chicken should be very tender and about to fall off bones. Remove chicken to bowl.
3. Combine flour, salt, and pepper with eggs (the more eggs the richer the batter but two is OK) to form a thick batter.
4. (As I had used a very large pan I just put the spaetzle in with the chicken and cooked it altogether. I have added single cream, but in this occasion I just skipped to point 8 and thickened my sauce) The original recipe had these instructions:
5. Add enough fresh water to pot to bring back to original level. Check flavour of broth. If flavour is weak add enough bullion to produce a well flavoured broth. Bring broth to boil.
6. Now comes the tricky (and boring) part. Drop batter in boiling broth in 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon amounts until all batter is in pot and cooked. Spaetzle is cooked when it floats on surface.You may need to remove some to get it all in the pot.
7. With all spaetzle cooked and in pot you now add your sour cream to broth. The amount is individual according to how creamy you wish the sauce to become (and how much water you started with).
8. At this point I usually add about three tablespoons of flour mixed with one cup of water to thicken the broth.
    
   I have included my Mums cookbooks recipe for Paprika chicken too:
    

Paprika Chicken

Mums cook book

Ingredients

2 2lb chickens

20z lard

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt

¼ lb tomatoes

1 cup water

¼ pint milk, ¼ pint cream, 1 tbsp corn flour (mixed well together)

1 oz paprika

1 pimento (pepper)

 

Method

1. Remove legs from chicken, split breasts into two, removing all small bones. Fry the onion in the lard until it begins to brown, stir in the paprika; add water, salt and the chickens.
2. Bring to the boil and cook with lid on until tender (about 20-30 minutes). Add a little water if necessary.
3. Add the tomatoes and pimento during the last 5 minutes. When cooked, pour in the mixture of milk, cream and corn flour, stir while bringing to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add salt, if required, and serve with rice, pasta or boiled potatoes.
    
    

Monkey Bread (Hungarian Coffee Cake)

Source: http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast (¼-ounce/7 grams/2¼ teaspoons); or 1 cake fresh yeast (0.6-ounce/18 grams); or 2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115°F for dry yeast; 80 to 85°F for fresh yeast)

3/4 cup warm milk or buttermilk, or 6 tablespoons milk and 6 tablespoons sour cream (5.125 ounces/180 grams)1

/3 cup granulated sugar (2.25 ounces/65 grams)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick/4 ounces/115 grams)

1 large egg (1.75 ounces/50 grams)

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp table salt

about 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour (18.5 ounces/525 grams)

1 cup dried currants or raisins (optional) (5 ounces/145 grams)

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick/4 ounces/115 grams)

1 cup granulated sugar or packed light brown sugar (7 ounces/200 grams)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ to 1 cup finely chopped lightly toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)

Prep Time: 2 Hours 55 Minutes Cook Time: 40 MinutesTotal Time: 3 Hours 35 Minutes

Servings: 12 - 16 servings, one 10-inch tube or Bundt cake

1. To make the dough: In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast (except instant yeast) in ¼ cup water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk, the remaining sugar, butter, egg, egg yolk, and salt.
3. Blend in 1½ cups flour. If using instant yeast, do not dissolve, but add here. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
4. On a lightly floured surface or in a mixer with a dough hook, knead the dough until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes. If using, knead in the currants. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Grease a 10-inch (12-cup) tube or Bundt pan or two 9-inch ring molds. (If the pan has a removable bottom, line the outside with foil to prevent the butter from dripping.) In place of a tube pan, place a custard cup or foil lined 1½-inch tube in the center of a round, deep baking pan or casserole.
6. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, and shape into 1-inch balls. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and, if using, nuts. Dip the balls into the melted butter, then roll in the sugar mixture to lightly coat.
7. Arrange the balls in the prepared pan no more than halfway full. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap spritzed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
    

Country

Hungary has no sea coast, yet it has one of the largest lakes of Europe, which with its sandy shoreline is a summer holiday magnet. The capital, Budapest is actually two cities which sit either side of the river Danube, Buda and Pest. A great plain that covers a third of the country and it is also home to the Europe’s largest land bird, the Great Bustard. It is also the first country to have an entire village placed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list, Holloko. The Paloc people have lived here since the 13^th Century, when the castle was built. Yet, the village isn’t that old, because of the 58 properties under protection all have been rebuilt several times. The wooden and thatch construction is prone to devastation by fire and the village has been burnt down many times, the last one being in 1909 when it was almost completely rebuilt.

Hungary is the home of many a famous, and significant modern inventor from the co-inventor of BASIC computer language to Erno Rubik, the man who in 1977 gave us the Rubik cube. It was also the home of the inventor of holograms.

Cuisine

Hot summers and mild winter make Hungry very suitable for growing many crops. Almost half the world’s paprika is Hungarian; incidentally peppers are used to make paprika. Paprika is very typical of Hungarian cooking, and the countries two most famous dishes are Chicken Paprika and Goulash. Goulash is the national dish, with a festival held every September in its honour, and beef is the nation’s favourite meat. Sea food does not feature prominently, but fresh water fish does, including trout, carp, perch and eels. Paprika is synonymous with Hungarian cuisine as well as its cakes, such as Dobos Torta, fine slices of sponge layered with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate icing.