Sour Cherries

 

This post is wholly inspired by a large bag of frozen pitted sour cherries I bought at  Adonis.  Sour cherries are not an ingredient I get my hands on very often. When I spot fresh sour cherries at the market I like to pick up a pint or 2, but am often too busy with work to make a cherry pie (my all time favorite dessert). Sour Cherries are not in season here in Canada, but frozen cherries work perfectly in the following two recipes.

I needed to re-stock my son's muffin supply for school next week, and so I came up with Sour Cherry, Flax & Buttermilk Muffins.  Spelt flour makes yet another appearance along with flax seeds.  Sour cherries are not particularly sweet, and so I would not reduce the sugar.  If you must, play around with alternate sugars in the same quantity. Here is a little excerpt from Canadian Living magazine about the health benefits of sour cherries:

Modern research is discovering that sour cherries possess a compound that relives pain, and there is mounting research that sour cherries are one of the most powerful superfoods. They're rich in health-promoting, cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory antioxidants, as well as high in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. And that's not all! Sour cherries are one of the few known natural food sources to contain the hormone melatonin, a mood enhancer and sleep aid.

Source: Canadian Living

The second recipe is probably the best crumble I have ever tasted! It is adapted from a Dr. Weil recipe.  Predictably the fat and sugar quantity have been reduced in this recipe, but I am excited to say so what!  This is a delectable crumble. I am not one to seek out low fat dessert recipes, but I am on a bit of a health kick right now and am trying to up the nutritional value in the food I am making. I like this recipe because some of the crunch comes from walnuts.  I also love adding almond extract to desserts, and I knew the extracts' strong flavor would pair well with the cherries. These 2 recipes are quick to assemble, and the results are more than worth the effort.

 

Sour Cherry, Flax & Buttermilk Muffins
makes 12 large muffins or 16 small muffins

• 500 ml (2 cups) all purpose flour
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) spelt flour
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
• 45 ml (3 tablespoons) flax seed, ground
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
• 1 ml (1/4 t) salt
• 1 large egg
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) lemon zest
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 500 ml (2 cups) sour cherries*, pitted, quartered (fresh or frozen)
• Sufficient quantity turbinado sugar

• Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F). To a medium bowl add the first 7 ingredients and whisk to blend. In another bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients, minus the cherries, for 1 minute until well blended. Add the wet ingredients and sour cherries to the dry ingredients and fold until just blended.  Scoop out batter into buttered or lined muffin tins, sprinkle each muffin with a pinch of turbinado sugar, and bake in the center of oven for 20 -25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin come out clean.

*I found my sour cherries in the frozen section of a Lebanese market.

Cranberry variation:  Add quartered cranberries instead of cherries and replace the lemon zest with orange zest.

Tart Cherry-Apple Crunch
adapted from a Dr. Weil recipe

• 454 g (1 lb) frozen pitted tart cherries
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) light brown sugar
• 2,5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) almond extract 
• 15 ml  + 7 ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) corn starch
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) unsweetened cherry or apple juice
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) old fashioned rolled oats
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) brown sugar
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) walnuts, chopped
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) whole wheat pastry flour
• 45 ml (3 tablespoons) grape seed oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) salt (optional)

• Pre-heat oven to 200C (400 F).  In a bowl toss together the cherries, apple, brown sugar and almond extract. In a cup mix together the corn starch and the juice.  Add to the fruit mixture, stirring well. Pour the mixture into an 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) square baking dish. Mix together the remaining ingredients.  Distribute the crumble evenly over the fruit.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Serve warm or cold. 

Below is a link to a recipe from Epicurious, probably originally from Gourmet Magazine. I have made this cake many times as it was recommended to me by one of my Chef/Teachers at cooking school. Semolina can be found easily (cream of wheat).  This cake is easy to make, and is a great cake to serve with mint tea or coffee.  The sour cherry compote is meant to accompany the cake and is sooooo good!

Sour Cherry compote 
Semolina Walnut Cake

Here is another link to a recipe for a  No knead walnut tart cherry bread.   I think I will try it!

Peach Blueberry Cake (Gourmet August 2005)

I have been back on the Bitchin Kitchen set (season 2), for a while now, and have been posting very little as you may have noted. I cook so much at work that I have been taking a lot of short cuts when cooking at home. This past weekend I cracked out a great and easy Peach Blueberry Cake recipe I cut out out of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine six years ago. I love recipes like this one: minimal effort with great results. Both peaches (Ontario), and blueberries are still in season, and I used the lovely sweet small berries from the Lac St-Jean region.

Here is the link for the printable version of Peach Blueberry Cake. The photos are of my cake straight from the oven. Once the cake has cooled the cake is easy to cut and the fruit stays in place. I have prepared this recipe a few times and this time I used the convect bake function on my oven. I lowered the temperature to 350F but I found the cake got a little too browned so I would not recommend convection when making this cake. Happy end of summer!

Biscotti & Muffins

Both the very snackable recipes in this post are adaptations from recipes by well known chefs. The first is a quick and easy low fat biscotti recipe by the internationally recognizable Martha Stewart. The second is a muffin recipe by Quebec's own Ricardo Larivee. Ricardo, who is a star chef on the grandest scale in Quebec, is less well known than Martha, but then again who isn't? I heard Ricardo speak about his passion for food and family a little over year ago on CBC 1. He is an eloquent speaker who is fluent in both French and English. Ricardo has a magazine named simply Ricardo. As a food stylist I appreciate his magazine for it's sophisticated look and its' modern, but not overly artistic or alienating, approach to food photography. Quebec's population is small, and being able to produce a magazine that holds its' own in comparison to much more widely circulated and better funded American and European food magazines is very impressive. Ricardo also has a popular television show on the Food Network called Ricardo and Friends.

The chocolate edition you see in the above photo peeking out from behind the latest edition is truly food porn. Ricardo's magazine was available in English for a while, but the English publication has been suspended due to low readership. I think Ricardo should try again soon. Once more Anglos get to know him and his food philosophy I think they will be hooked.

And when you get Ricardo talking about food and culture and national identity, you can practically see the passion cracking around him like an electrical charge. “On a visit I made to New Zealand, I was fascinated to see that the customs and foods of its Aboriginal population (the Maori), were proudly incorporated into the mainstream culture of New Zealand,” said Ricardo. “But here we need to do some work on that . . . many of the dishes that we call indigenous to Canada or Quebec specifically actually do have their roots in Native cultures. I want to talk about that and I want to show that so people can appreciate it.”
But Ricardo is trying to take it one step further – he is trying to spread the word to children in schools in the towns and regions he visits. “It is an indisputable fact that parents that make it a habit of sitting down to meals with their children encounter far fewer social and developmental problems with their children,” says Ricardo. “So I am trying to work in a love of food, a curiosity about food and where good food comes from in children from an early age so that my enthusiasm and curiosity then becomes theirs as well.”

excerpt from citylifemagazine.ca

Let me tell you that I would work as the assistant to the assistant to the assistant to the food stylist on any of the Ricardo food shoots...but I have been told by those in the know that I would be in a very long line of food stylists ready to sell their first born to get in at Ricardo! I think I will hold on to mine, and hope for the best!

Click here for the Whole Wheat Raisin Walnut Biscotti recipe by Martha. Adaptations to the recipe: I used regular raisins instead of golden. I also replaced the whole wheat flour with spelt flour. Spelt flour is a very nutritious flour that can often be used instead of whole wheat. These biscotti are low in fat and very satisfying as an afternoon accompaniment to tea or coffee.
From Ricardo's latest edition I made the banana muffins. Who needs another banana bread or muffin recipe right? Well I like to try new recipes as much as possible, and especially if there is a little twist in the recipe that could make all the difference. I have never added lemon juice and I like that this recipe requires 3 bananas, as I often have too many ripe bananas on hand. This recipe is accompanied by a chocolate peanut butter icing recipe. It was tempting, but I send these muffins in my son's lunch so I skipped the icing. As a compromise I added milk chocolate chips. These guys are moist and delicious.

Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing
(translated from french from Ricardo Vol. 9 #4)
yields: 12 muffins

Muffins

• 500 ml (2 cups) un-bleached all purpose flour
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) brown sugar
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) baking powder
• 2,5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) juice of freshly squeezed lemon
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml (1 cup) milk chocolate chips (optional and not in original recipe)

Icing

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) peanut butter
• 55 g (2 oz) dark chocolate, melted
• 30 ml ( 2 tablespoons) 35% cream
• sufficient quantity un-salted roasted crushed peanuts or banana slices (fresh or dried)

Muffins

• Place the grill in the center of oven. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F). Line 12 muffin tin molds with muffin liners.
• In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
• In another bowl use a fork to crush the bananas with the lemon juice. Add the milk, oil, and eggs to the bowl and mix well.
• Using a spatula add the dry ingredients and fold until just blended.
• Divide the batter equally between the 12 molds and cook for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
• Let cool. Remove muffins and let cool on a cookie rack.

Icing

• In a bowl, with a spatula, mix together the peanut butter and chocolate until well blended.
• Add the cream and stir to blend.
• Ice the cooled muffins and decorate with peanuts or banana slices.

You could also ice the muffins with whipped peanut butter. To whip the peanut butter be sure that it is at room temperature before whipping.

Aslo check out Dessert Poutine recipe by Ricardo!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Here is a recipe for the best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting I have ever made or tasted. I gleaned it from Canadian Living magazine, who's strong suit seems to be desserts. I made it for my son's seventh birthday, and I had some vanilla chocolate flake ice cream as back up for any kids who recoiled at the idea of vegetables in their cake. There were a few, but most including the parents really loved it. I doubled the recipe and used 2 10 inch cake molds. I would recommend tripling the icing recipe for a layer cake as I had just enough, but could have used a bit more. I also omitted the nuts as children's birthday party's and nuts just do not go together anymore.

Here area few pictures I took this morning after yesterday's snow fall. I trekked out to the compost and realized what a lovely morning it is, and so I came back and took a few pictures of our crab apple tree and surroundings until my fingers went numb and I had to retreat.

Buche de Noel

A Buche de noel was requested by my son, and inspired by Martha Stewart's guest chef Johnny Iuzzini. Check out this video for the recipe. I took 2 elements from the recipe: the cake and ganache. For the filling I made a raspberry mousse, but next year I would like to try the filling that is part of the Johnny Iuzzini recipe. I  made my mushrooms, holly leaves and berries out of marzipan, and did not use meringue as in the recipe. Using marzipan is much quicker, and very tasty! The silver coated candy almonds are left over from a food styling job I did last year.

Raspberry Mousse

• 500 ml ( 2 cups) fresh or frozen raspberries
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) water
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) gelatin ( 1 packet)
• 500 ml (2 cups) 35% whipping cream

• In a sauce pan, over low heat, simmer the first three ingredients until the sugar has dissolved (1-2 minutes). Over a bowl pass the raspberry "coulis" through a fine mesh sieve pressing down hard with a rubber spatula to force raspberries pulp through. Return the coulis to a clean saucepan. Dissolve the gelatin according to the manufacturer's instructions and combine with the still warm strained raspberry coulis. Return to the stove top over low heat, and stir to dissolve gelatin completely (1-2 minutes). Transfer to a medium sized bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Whip cream and fold 1/4 of cream into raspberry coulis. Once fully blended add the rest of whipped cream and fold gently to combine. Let chill in refrigerator until set (several hours). To use as Buche filling: Spread the chilled mousse in an even layer over cake sheet leaving and inch border on all sides. Roll and continue as instructed in recipe.

Ginger everything

This post is short on words, but big on flavor. Try making this simple but delicious ginger cake. Fresh and ground ginger make it what it is. Click here for recipe.

Christmas baking is around the corner and I still firmly stand behind my gingerbread cookie recipe.

Autumn Apple Cupcake

Yes more apple recipes:

Apple Cupcakes

Apple jam

• 2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced
• a splash of apple cider vinegar
• 125 ml / 1/2 cup sugar
• half a vanilla bean, split
  

Combine the above ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer gently for about 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care to leave the diced apple mostly intact. Remove from stove and let cool.

Apple Jam Vanilla Cupcakes

• 375 ml / 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 7.5 ml / 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 250 ml / 1 cup sugar
• 125 ml / 1/2 cup butter, softened, cubed
• 1/2 vanilla bean's seeds
• 5 ml / 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup milk

Pre-heat oven to 375 F / 190 C.
Butter a 12 cup muffin tin or line the tin with muffin cups. Measure out first 3 ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk or fork to combine. In a standing mixer with paddle attachment or with handheld electric beaters cream the sugar, butter and vanilla seeds for 5 minutes . Add the vanilla extract, and then the eggs 1 at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the cooled apple jam and beat for a few seconds to combine. Fold in the flour in 3 additions alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. Bake in the center of oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Apple Butter Cinnamon Icing

• 125 ml / 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 500 ml / 2 cups icing sugar
• 3 heaping tablespoons of apple butter
• 5 ml / 1 /2 tsp cinnamon, ground
• 30 ml / 2 Tbsp milk

In a standing mixer with paddle attachment or with handheld electric beaters cream the butter for 5 minutes. Add the icing sugar 125 ml / 1/2 cup at a time. Beating well after each addition. Add the 3 remaining ingredients and beat until you have a spreadable consistency. Add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, if you would like a smoother icing.

When the cupcakes have completely cooled pipe or spread the icing generously over the cupcakes and serve.

Apples: A Canape and Apple Picking

Apple & Goat Cheese Canape

Apple Butter or Apple Cinnamon Confiture, topped with Pure Goat Soft Surface Ripened Cheese on a small store bought pastry shell, broiled for a minute in the oven and topped with a small sprig of lemon thyme.

• Apple and Cinnamon Confiture made by Elsa's Story, found at Atwater Market, Montreal, Quebec.
• Pastry shell found at La Fromagerie Hamel, Jean-Talon Market, Montreal, Quebec.

Apple Picking & Apple Donuts

After several years of intense research by my family these apple donuts (pictured above), have been been deemed the best Apple Donuts Saint-Joseph-du-lac has to offer. You will find them at:

Pomiculture du Bûcheron
Julie – Francine - Pierre Gaudette
494, chemin Principal
Tél. : (450) 623-4860
Cidrerie artisanale, miellerie, café-terrasse, desserts, fermette, visites éducatives et groupes corporatifs

The most peaceful orchard in Saint-Joseph-du-lac.

Verger Joannette
Athanase Joannette
596, chemin Principal
Tél. : (450) 623-4872
Kiosque, balade en tracteur.

• Quebec Apple Picking Directory

Apple posts from this blog:

• Apple Cake
• Apple Pie
• Apple muffins

Bison Red Wine Chili & Corn Bread

Although fall is in the air many of us are still dealing with the bounty of our summer gardens before said bounty spoils. I have been squeezing the modest output of my vegetable garden into every dinner I can. My kids have given up on not liking zucchini...its just too much work. This hearty chili is a slight twist on the family friendly version with a little red wine, a lot of zucchini, a little bison and mostly organic ingredients. Bison is delicious and tastes very much like what I feel good beef used to taste like. I am continuing to try and use only organic meat and as many other organic ingredients as my budget will allow. The cornbread recipe is simple and moist and requires no extras like cheese or peppers. It works well at sopping up the chili sauce.

Bison Red Wine Chili

• 30 ml / 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 15 ml / 1 T of cumin,ground
• 5 ml / 1 t of cinnamon, ground
• a large pinch of dried chili flakes* You can be way more generous here depending on how spicy you like your chili.
  
• 250 ml / 2 cups zucchini, diced
• 2 red peppers, diced
• 45 ml / 3 T tomato paste
• 1 l / 4 cups tomatoes, peeled, large dice (I used fresh tomatoes from my garden and a friends)
• 180 ml / 3/4 cup red wine
• 540 ml /19 fl. oz red kidney beans,cooked and rinsed

• 15 ml / 1 t olive oil
• 250 g / 1/2 lb bison, ground
  
• splash of red wine

In a large saucepan heat the oil on medium and then add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have browned (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon and chili flakes and cook for 1 minute stirring once or twice. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat. Then add the remaining vegetables and continue cooking until the zucchini and peppers are soft (about 7 minutes). Add the tomatoes, their juice and the wine. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour with the lid partially on the pot. Meanwhile in saute pan cook the ground bison in oil until the meat is no longer pink and there are some browned crispy bits. Add the bison to the chili. Deglaze the saute pan with a little red wine and scrap in whatever remains. Add the beans and continue to simmer for 1 hour more with the lid off. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with sour cream, cilantro sprigs and/or grated sharp cheddar.

I sprinkled dried ground chilies on my own plate because I have small children who cannot tolerate the spiciness yet, but feel free to be way more generous with the heat. I find ground chilies (which are just dried chilies ground in a coffee grinder), add a satisfying heat without the unwanted flavors of hot sauce.

Corn Bread
Adapted from The Hillybilly Housewife

• 125 ml / 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 375 ml / 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used organic yogurt)
• 2 eggs
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup of sugar
• 5 ml / 1 t salt
• 250 ml / 1 cup cornmeal
• 250 ml / 1 cup all purpose flour
• 5 ml / 1 t baking soda

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C / 400 F. Add a splash of the melted butter to a 23 cm /9 inch cast iron pan. In a large bowl whisk together first 4 ingredients. In another bowl whisk together remaining 4 dry ingredients. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until just blended. Put the pan in the oven for 5 minutes and then carefully retrieve the pan from the oven and quickly add the corn bread batter to the pan. Return the pan to the oven and cook until center is slightly springy (about 20-25 minutes). Cut into wedges and serve warm as an accompaniment to the chili.

In the last few weeks 2 different friends have given me eggs from their hens. I have also received from friends: potatoes, sweet peppers, patty pan, cucumbers (mine were eaten by a ground hog), among many other vegetables. Knowing where your food comes from is truly inspiring and makes you take special care when preparing them. Speaking of inspiration here is another site: Chef2Chef that I have come to enjoy as well as an article forwarded to me by a friend that keeps me going on my renewed quest for better and healthier food.

Labour Day Weekend

My family and I are heading up to the lakeside home of friends in Mont-Laurier for the long weekend. Our get together features a mechoui and an un-birthday party (weather be dammed!). I decided to make an Italian apple cake I have been making for years and have already posted about here. I bought new apples at the market last weekend and this recipe depends on the freshness of the apples as they make up so much of the mass of the cake. My kitchen is presently a sauna, but baking had to be done. I am all for an Indian summer, but would like to forgo the flop sweating...I am just saying.

I quadrupled the recipe which is always a gamble when baking, but the recipe is simple enough so I gave it a try and it has turned out well. Here are the quantities (4X) for a cake that will feed about 40 people:

fits well in a : 45 cm x 30 cm (18 inches x 12 inches) cake pan

24 medium sized apples

1.5 l / 6 cups all purpose flour
20 ml / 1 T + 1/2 t salt
60 ml / 4 T baking powder
2 lemons
250 ml / 1 cup unsalted butter
1 l / 4 cup sugar
8 eggs
250 ml / 1 cup milk

Click on Italian Apple Cake for the original recipe with the method.

Devil's Food Cherry Cupcakes & Chocolate Chip Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes for my daughter's end of year daycare BBQ. I always volunteer the dessert so that I can guarantee my son (who was also attending), will be able to eat something sweet. My son does not eat artificial food coloring as I have mentioned before. I made both batches of cupcakes from recipes at Marthastewart.com which has always been a reliable recipe resource for me. The BBQ itself is always a little overwhelming for parents as it is really difficult to keep an eye on your kids with so many kids running around, but I was among some good friends which always helps. When the dads showed up 3 moms and I took off for dinner in town at my old cooking school's restaurant Le Saucier. It was their last service before summer vacation.

For the recipes click below:

Vanilla cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Bean Cupcakes:
I added one vanilla bean's seeds to the batter for even more vanilla flavor. I like to add vanilla beans because the seeds are visually appealing. To the batter I also added 250 ml / 1 cup chocolate chips (more to garnish). I doubled the vanilla icing recipe, divided it and added 75 ml / 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to half the icing in order to ice the Devil's Food Cupcakes. To the vanilla icing I added the beans of half a vanilla bean.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

Devil's Food Cherry Cupcakes:
To the Devil's food cupcakes I added 250 ml / 1 cup chopped up fresh pitted cherries. I thought that it would be nice to garnish the Devil's Food Cherry Cupcakes with Chantilly Cream and chocolate shavings making them Black Forest Cupcakes. Unfortunately whipped cream would not have worked well in the sweltering heat and bizarrely my son doesn't like whipped cream. Another time.

Easter Sugar Cookies with Blueberry Icing

The title says it all. The sugar cookie recipe is Martha's and the icing is mine. I used up the last of my vanilla sugar in the cookies and although the recipe already requires vanilla extract the extra vanilla only made them better. The icing was colored with blueberries. I heated a handful in the microwave and then passed them through a fine mesh sieve. I blended together icing sugar (250 ml / 1 cup), and cream (15 ml / 1 tablespoon) to get a stiff paste, and then added the blueberry juice a teaspoon at a time to obtain the color I wanted while taking care not to make the icing too loose. If the icing is still too stiff add a few drops more of the blueberry juice or cream (depending on what hue you want).

We applied the blueberry icing with toothpicks. It got a little crazy with the decorative elements, but I just let the kids go and then vacuumed. We used some crushed up all natural candy cane to decorate several so that my son could have a few. I keep meaning to order some all natural sprinkles! At this point I have until Christmas.

A little bit of spring...



My kids in the playground on Simon River &
some lovely crocuses peeping through