Sweet Summer Dessert

I love berries. All types anytime - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. When they are in season they are awesome. And the best thing is you can freeze them and they are still great year round.

Right now in BC we're lucky to be enjoying the late fall harvest, with apples and peaches that are so sweet you wonder how you can eat any other kind of fruit. What a perfect time to take some of those fresh Okanagan peaches, and add some frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and fresh blackberries. Let's toss the fruit in a bit of flour, some brown sugar and cinnamon. Place it all in a glass dish. Now the best part. Mix together more flour, brown sugar and melted butter now. Why not add in a little more cinnamon? Awesome. Mix that until it's crumbly and just kind of put it over the top of the fruit.

Into the oven - 350 F for 45-60 minutes. Spoon that out, with a little ice cream. There you go. Isn't that just the best?

Berry Crumble (all measurements are approximations)

- 2 Peaches, diced

- 1 cup frozen Blueberries

- 1 cup frozen raspberries

- 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

- 1/2 cup fresh blackberries

- 1/3 or 1/2 cup flour

- 1 tbsp cinnamon

- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Topping

- 1 cup flour

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/3 cup butter, melted

Toss berries with flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. Place in oven proof glass dish. Mix remaining flour, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Drizzle butter overtop and stir until crumbly. Place on top of berries. Bake. Enjoy with ice cream.

*Pictures from this blog are from this dessert at Basswood Lake, for my sister's birthday. We had awesome Ontario fruit, including Blackberries my other sister and I picked behind the cottage that day.

Sunday Night Dinner - Skillet Chicken Cobbler

We're now a couple of days into Fall, and the start of the rainier season in Vancouver. Now I'm not sure what my feeling will be in March and April, but in the Fall I sometimes absolutely love when it rains, when it really pours. This morning waking up and hearing what sounded like a monsoon outside (to my sleepy head anyways), was so relaxing.

With the rain also comes the wet socks, chilly weather and comfort food. Oh the comfort food. Tonight I decided to try a new recipe from the October issue of Canadian Living. Awesome selection of recipes in the Sizzling Skillets article, and this is the first one we've tried.

Skillet Chicken Cobbler

- 1 tbsp each vegetable oil and unsalted butter

- 1 onion, chopped

- 8 oz button mushrooms, quartered

- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite-size pieces

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- salt and pepper

- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

- 2 ribs celery, chopped

- 2 carrots, thinly sliced

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/2 tsp thyme

- 1 cup frozen peas

Topping:

- 1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

- 1/2 cup buttermilk

In 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat; cook onion and mushrooms, stirring often, until mushrooms are lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add chicken, garlic, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until chicken is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in floor, cook 1 minute. Add broth and bring to boil, stirring. Stir in celery, carrots, bay leaf and thyme; reduce heat, cover and simmer until thickened and vegetables are tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minute. Stir in peas, discard bay leaf, remove from heat and set aside.

TOPPING: In bowl, whisk together flour, baking power and salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until crumbly. Drizzle in buttermilk, stirring just until soft sticky dough forms. Turn out onto floured surface; knead 6 times or just until smooth.

Roll out into 6-inch square; brush with 2 tsp buttermilk. Cut into 6 biscuits and arrange over chicken mixture. Bake in 375 F oven until top is golden and filling is bubbly, about 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezing Corn

It's that time of year when the weather starts to turn, and I start to think about all those months without fresh produce. It makes me a little sad,but then I remember that I can easily preserve the summer by freezing! I have frozen bags of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and rhubarb in the freezer. And recently I also decided to freeze me some corn.

Freezing corn is super easy, and it's always great to have on hand to add to stews, chili's, shepherd's pie and other wintery dinners.

Step 1 - Shuck and clean corn.

Step 2 - Place corn in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for a short time (1-2 minutes).

Step 3 - Transfer to ice water to cool and stop the cooking.

Step 4 - Remove niblets from cob.

Step 5 - Dry on paper towels.

Step 6 - Place in large freezer bags, and freeze.

It's a pretty easy process, and now you can enjoy your corn year round!

Hypercolour Bean and Mushroom Risotto

I'm a huge fan of risotto, and have tried my hand at many different types. Last time I made a simple pea and parmesan risotto for dinner I kept thinking that I wish I had mushrooms to add. Now after making this Canadian Living Mushroom Risotto, I realized that just adding mushrooms wouldn't have cut it. The key is to reconstitute dried mushrooms, using the liquid as the broth. Wow! What awesome flavours!

Now, this recipe was for a Green Bean and Mushroom Risotto. I already had some awesome purple beans I'd grabbed earlier in the week, and I thought they would make the risotto look so cool, with the deep purple set against the mushrooms. Now, I had not yet cooked these beans, so little did I know that they were hypercolour (I do hope some people get that reference!). When they were cooking I looked away for a minute or two, and when I looked back they had turned green! Regardless, the dinner was awesome!

Hypercolour Bean and Mushroom Risotto

- 1 pkg dried mushrooms (I used Porcini's I think?)

- 1 cup hot vegetable stock

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1 onion, finely chopped

- 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tsp dried thyme

- salt and pepper

- 1 cup arborio rice

- 1/3 cup dry white wine

- 1 cup purple beans, cut

- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigianno

- 2 tbsp parsley

In heatproof bowl, soak mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon; chop and set aside. Strain liquid into measuring cup; add stock and enough water to make 3 cups. Set aside.

In large shallow saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium heat; fry mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add rice, stirring to coat. Add wine; cook, stirring constantly until no liquid remains. Add 1 - 1/2 cups of stock mixture, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring after

each addition until completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Add beans. Add remaining stock mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until completely absorbed and rice is creamy and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cheese, parsley and remaining butter.

Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

I first made this recipe over 2 years ago, mentioned it in a post here and have meant to post it for some years. This is a great way cook cauliflower and is a dish that definitely stands out. Another great side from Canadian Living. Their recipe calls to steam the broccoli, but you can also blanche in boiling water, dunking them in cold water to stop the cooking.

Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

- 1 large cauliflower, cut in bite-size pieces, steamed until tender.

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1 small onion, minced

- 1/3 cup flour

- 4 cups hot milk

- 1 1/2 cups shredded old Cheddar cheese

- 1/2 tsp dry mustard

- salt and pepper

- 1/4 cup fresh or dry bread crumbs

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Place cauliflower in 8-inch square glass baking dish.

In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Fry onion, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, 1/2 cup at a time. Simmer, whisking, until thick enough to coat back of spoon - around 8 minutes. Stir in Cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper, until cheese is melted. Pour over cauliflower.

In small bowl mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan and parsley. Sprinkle over cauliflower mixture and bake in 400 F oven until bubbly and golden, 15 minutes.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Growing up my mom used to make awesome birthday cakes and desserts (and still does!). I remember decorating cakes with gummy worms and M&M's, so good! But one birthday cake idea that has stuck around is the Ice Cream Cone Cupcake - exactly what it sounds like, a cupcake in an ice cream cone.

I remember having these at school - I need to remember to ask my mom how she transported them, because I've been bringing them to bake sales and work parties for years, and still haven't figured it out!

When I was working in a kitchen at a summer camp I started making these for kids birthday's, instead of the regular cake. I decorated them the same way my mom did, with jelly bean eyes and licorice mouths. It was great, no kid could complain about someone's piece being bigger or smaller. And I made sure each cupcake had 1 black jelly bean, so no one could complain about wanting another one because they didn't like the black jelly beans. It was great! Making over 100 of them sometimes was a little crazy, and a few would inevitably go down in the process.

Nowadays when there have been bake sales, potlucks or birthday parties at work, I've brought these back. And every time someone asks me how I get the cake into the ice cream cone. Everyone is always surprised to find out you bake the cake in the cone! Somehow the ice cream cone manufacturers got a hold of my mom's idea and started printing the instructions on the box, but that's okay, because everyone should experience Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

- Cake batter of your choice (you can use a box, or any si

mple vanilla or chocolate cake recipe)

- 24 flat bottomed ice cream cones

- Icing of your choice (I strongly encourage making your own but understand sometimes there are time constraints and the tubs are super convenient)

- Sprinkles, candies, chocolates, nuts...

Preheat oven to heat specified in cake batter recipe. Stand cones up without touching on cookie sheet. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each cone. Bake in centre of oven for time specified for cupcakes (around 20 - 24 minutes). Check at 20 minutes - use a toothpick, when it comes out clean they are cooked through.

Let cool on rack. Decorate and enjoy!

Sunday Night Dinner - Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry

Because I love BBQ'ing pork tenderloin so much I often don't think about using it in other dishes. But pork tenderloin lends itself so well to a stir-fry, especially when you throw in some ginger and hoisin sauce.

Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry

- 1 pork tenderloin

- 1tbsp vegetable oil

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tbsp minced gingerroot

- 3 cups chopped broccoli florets and peeled stems

- 2 carrots, sliced

- 1 red pepper, sliced

Sauce:

- 3/4 cup vegetable stock

- 2 - 3 tbsp hoisin sauce

- 1/3 cup of water

- 2 tbsp tamari

- 4 tsp cornstarch

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

In small bowl or measuring cup whisk together ingredients for sauce. Set aside - you will need to whisk again before adding to stir-fry.

Slice pork in half lengthwise; cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. In large wok or skillet, heat oil over high heat; stir-fry pork until just a hint of pink remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Add garlic and ginger to work; stir-fry over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add vegetables and 2 tbsp water; cover and steam about 3 minutes, until tender crisp.

Return pork and any accumulated juices to wok. Stir sauce into wok and cook, stirring, until thickened and glossy, about 2 minutes.

At this point I add some Farkay noodles that I've already cooked and cooled. This would be great over rice as well.