Good Old Fashioned Ontario Apple Crisp

"With an apple I will astonish Paris." Paul Cézanne

 

Hiya followers! If you live anywhere close to Georgetown, Ontario, make sure to check out my website and sign up to one of my cooking demonstrations! You can either come out to The Carter Farm Market located in Norval, Ontario, or I will come out to your house for a private demo!

www.sarahsculinaryadventure.com

 

 

How do you like them apples?! I swear, I've never seen so many in my life!

This morning I went for a walk down in the ravine along a trail here in Georgetown, ON. At one point the trail opens up into a large clearing and along the edge of the woods are least a half dozen apple trees. They are growing wild, not sprayed and I have the feeling they are the result of apple cores being tossed aside by people over the years! Ha! Well, after not being on the trail or seeing these trees for at least a couple of  months, I was amazed at the sight! The trees were dripping with beautiful, bright, ruby red apples! I'm talking boughs bent down to the ground from the weight of the fruit, not to mention dozens upon dozens of apples already fallen onto the ground! So what did I do, you might ask?! I picked an apple, gave it a good shine and took a bite. Sweet, juicy and absolutely delicious! So, what did I do after that?! Walked back to our place, grabbed a basket, my camera, retraced my route and picked apples for the first time in years! Walking back home I was wondering what I should do with my newly picked gems, so I sent off a text to my sweetie Kev and asked for his advice. He said a simple apple crisp would be nice for dessert and I agreed. Thank you Kevin because not only do we have dessert for tonight, but the house smells AMAZING!

 

 

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

 

Good Old Fashioned Ontario Apple Crisp

(serves 8 to 10)

Filling
8 large Ontario apples, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
¼ cup brown sugar or honey

 

Topping
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a medium sized casserole dish.

Place the apples and brown sugar into a large bowl and toss until the sugar has dissolved. Spread the filling out evenly into the bottom of the greased casserole dish.

In the same bowl, add in the topping ingredients and break up the butter pieces with your fingers until they are roughly the same size as peas. Spread the topping evenly over the apples.

Place the casserole into the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crisp is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature, on it’s own or with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, crème fraiche or yogurt. Enjoy!

Now, I'm not an expert on apples by any means and I don't even know what type of apples I picked! I do know that there are proper apples for baking and I probably should have used them or recommended them for my crisp, but I am throwing caution to the wind and telling you to do as I did and use whatever type of fresh Ontario apples you have! I honestly don't think you'll regret it! Till next time, followers!

 

 

 

 

Jean Ikeson's Greenhouse! Dundas, Ontario

"Earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Hiya followers! If you live anywhere close to Georgetown, Ontario, make sure to check out my website and sign up to one of my cooking demonstrations! You can either come out to The Carter Farm Market located in Norval, Ontario, or I will come out to your house for a private demo!

www.sarahsculinaryadventure.com

 

As promised, I'm back to continue blogging about our family friend's farm that my sweetie and I visited a couple of weekends ago. Jean was born in Texas and grew up in Oklahoma, before travelling north and settling in Canada. She has lived in different parts of Ontario and Nova Scotia and is now back in Ontario and lives along the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas. If you scroll down my blog, you will see Jean's garden and the vegetables she grows, some representing her Southern roots such as okra, lots of peppers (some are hot!) and a couple different types of tomatillos. Speaking of tomatillos, I just blogged a recipe for salsa verde and as soon as local squash are ready, I will make Jean`s tomatillo and squash soup! Yum! Jean's farm isn't all about veggies though and her other gardening passion takes us indoors to her vast greenhouse which is filled with over a thousand orchids!
 

Part Two
 

Jean Ikeson loves orchids. Not only does she have a greenhouse full of them, but she is also is a member of many orchid societies and was an international judge at an orchid competition in Singapore a year and half a ago. Jean also has her own business named Windsor Greenhouse that sells orchids, orchid growing supplies and good quality greenhouses, not just poly huts. Here is a link to her website!

Now, before we get started looking at photos, I just wanted to share that the orchids are not in full bloom this time of year. So, today I only have about a dozen pictures to share, but Jean told us to come back in January or February when they are all in bloom. To tell you truth, I can't even imagine what that would look like! Over a thousand orchids in bloom?! I cannot wait to go back and I promise to bring my camera along. Here are some of Jean`s beautiful orchids!

 

 L.C. Puppy Love

 

Angraecum Sesquipedale (a.k.a Darwin's Orchid)

Though discovered by someone else, this native of Madagascar was made famous by Darwin! The noticeably long spur of the flower had Darwin rationalize that there must be a  large moth with a long proboscis (tongue) that must pollinate the orchid. He was proven right, but only years after his death. Recently, for the first time, hidden cameras finally caught footage of the infamous moth and here's a link to the video! Ha!

 

Schomburgkia

 

Lady Slipper

 

With over 25,00 different orchids, I had a hard time writing all of the names down!

 

 Look how small and delicate these orchids are! Magnificent!

Ants live within  the tubers of some orchid plants, keeping them pollinated.

 

 

Jane Rodmell's Salsa Verde Recipe

 

 Fresh tomatillos from Jean's farm, husked and ready to go!

 

Hiya followers! If you live anywhere close to Georgetown, Ontario, make sure to check out my website and sign up to one of my cooking demonstrations! You can either come out to The Carter Farm Market located in Norval, Ontario, or I will come out to your house for a private demo!

www.sarahsculinaryadventure.com

 

So, last week my blog was all about our friend Jean's farm and I'm back this week to share a recipe made with some of the beautiful produce from her garden! Tomatillos are a favourite of Jean's and she has a tonne of them! Related to the tomato and though technically regarded as a fruit, tomatillos are used in savoury recipes. A staple in Mexican cuisine, Tex-Mex cooking other in South American countries, the most popular way to prepare tomatillos is to make a green salsa from them called salsa verde. Now, I must be frank and tell you that I tried making my own salsa recipe this week, but it wasn't very good. Then I thought to myself "Why try to make something, when someone else does it better?" You see, at this year's Spring Cottage Life Show, Jane Rodmell and I demonstrated the salsa verde recipe she had developed for Cottage Life magazine. It was absolutely delicious! So delicious in fact that I figured I might as well share Jane's recipe instead of making my own, and now you all can enjoy it as much as I did! Yum!

 

Photograph by Jim Norton, from the Cottage Life website

 

This recipe is for Pork in Salsa Verde, but if you wish to just make the salsa, it can be easily adjusted!

 

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

 

Jane Rodmell's Pork in Salsa Verde

(serves 6)

2 tbsp vegetable oil (30 ml)

3 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large white onion, peeled and cut 
into wedges

2 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (2 ml)

4-6 sprigs fresh coriander, plus extra 
for garnish

1 bay leaf

Water or chicken stock

1 lb  tomatillos, about 8 (500 g) 
(see Tip)

2 jalapeno chiles

2 poblano chiles

Juice of 1 fresh lime

 

1. In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Lightly brown pork on all sides. Season lightly. Add half of onion, 1 clove garlic, cumin seeds, fresh coriander, and bay leaf. Add water or stock to cover meat, reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer until pork is tender, about an hour

.

2. Meanwhile, preheat broiler and husk and rinse tomatillos. Place on cookie sheets with chiles and remaining onion and garlic. Broil, turning occasionally, until chile and tomatillo skins are evenly browned and blistered. (Or thread tomatillos, chiles, onion, and garlic on metal skewers and grill on a barbecue.) Let cool. Rub off chile skins; remove veins and seeds. Remove garlic skin.

3. With a slotted spoon, remove meat to a bowl and season lightly. Strain cooking liquid and return to the pot, simmering until reduced by half.

4. Using a food processor, purée tomatillos, chiles, onions, garlic, and accumulated juices, adding reduced pork liquid as needed to make a sauce of creamy consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning.

5. Pour sauce over pork and heat through. Garnish with extra coriander, finely chopped, and drizzle fresh lime juice overtop.

Tip: Tomatillos, a Mexican staple, are small, tart fruits you can find in most large grocery stores. Choose ones with a bright green, papery husk. You can substitute canned tomatillos for fresh or, in a pinch, green tomatoes with a dash of lemon juice.
Variation: For Chicken in Salsa Verde, replace pork with boneless chicken thighs.

 

Jean Ikeson's September Garden! Dundas, Ontario

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling."  Mirabel Osler

 

Hiya followers! If you live anywhere close to Georgetown, Ontario, make sure to check out my website and sign up to one of my cooking demonstrations! You can either come out to The Carter Farm Market located in Norval, Ontario, or I will come out to your house for a private demo!

www.sarahsculinaryadventure.com

Jean loves to 'graze off her garden'! Yum!

 

This blog is about our family friend Jean Ikeson, her vast garden and her greenhouse full of orchids! That being said, today I will focus on the garden and my next blog will be about her flowers. You see, I have SO many photos, that having a part one and part two only makes sense! Ha! So, let's get started...

 

Part One

Jean owns and lives on a large piece of property along the Niagara escarpment, in Dundas, Ontario. She has a lovely house, many fruit trees (including a fig tree that she stores in the greenhouse over winter), a large vegetable garden and a collection of several different varieties of berry bushes. Last weekend my sweetie and I went for a visit and had a fabulous time, while learning a lot from our host! Jean is originally from Texas, lived in Oklahoma and has lived in several parts of Canada over the years, including different parts of Ontario and Nova Scotia. Jean has also had many different careers and has a lot of interests, but will tell you that gardening and growing orchids are her passions! Enough said for now, let's head out on a tour!
 

Jean first took us to her apple trees. She grows several varieties, some of which I had never heard of! As Jean put it, "Your Grandmother would know some of these varieties." In other words, good old fashioned apples that are not so easily found these days. All of Jean's apple trees are 'no spray' trees, which are chemical free and instead are treated with dorment oil and copper sulfate (the same method my Dad uses on our fruit trees on our 10 acres in Norfolk County, Ontario).

Liberty Apple
 

 Bramley Apple

 

Next, Angus the dog joined us as we walked down to the garden. Jean does not use chemicals to spray her garden, though she does use fertilizer. Her many years of farming has taught here a thing or two and she told us that she uses fertilizer cause "The plants need to feed and we need to feed on the plants." Makes sense!
Being from Oklahoma has helped shape Jean's garden and she has a collection of vegetables that I am not that familiar with. Tomatillos, ground cherries, okra and many different peppers (hot and mild) are all present. Definitely everyday ingredients in Southern cooking and maybe not so popular around here. I told you we learned a lot on our stroll around the garden! Besides the unique veggies, Jean also grows tomatoes, greens and onions among many other things.

 

 Okra (related to the hibiscus plant, Jean says never to boil this vegetable, always fry or roast first before adding it to jambalaya, for instance!)

 

 

 Purple Tomatillo Plant

 

Purple Tomatillo

Green Tomatillo

 

 Green tomatillos (use when green and citrusy in flavour, overripe when yellow and tastes like pineapple)

  

 Physalis or Ground Cherries (sweet flavor, ripe when the husk is brown and the fruit is orange)

 

 Lot's o' peppers!

 

 Sweet Heat Peppers

 

 Hot Lemon Peppers (they will turn yellow when ripe)

 

 Old German Tomato

Jean starts her tomato transplants early in May out in the garden, in tomato cages lined with 'kitchen catcher' bags, in turn making mini green houses around the plants. Doing so allows Jean to begin harvesting ripe tomatoes in early July. She also uses a slow release fertilizer.

 

 Valencia Tomato (Jean's favourite!)

 

Curly Kale Patch

Curly Kale

Tuscan Kale

 

Shallots (they're HUGE!)

 

Red Onions

Berries are some of Jean's favourite fruit and she grows quite a few different types. While looking through the bushes and sampling freshly picked berries, Jean told us about picking dewberries in Texas as a child. She told us that to pick dewberries you need a bowl tied on a string around your neck, one free hand and a stick in the other. "What is the stick for, Jean?" I asked. "To left up the bottom branches to search for snakes. If there aren't any, you use your free hand to pick the berries and use the other to keeping checking for snakes." Wow, remind me not to go to Texas to pick dewberries anytime soon! Ha!

 

Blackberries 

 

 Red Currants

 

Alrighty followers, I hope that you have enjoyed 'Part One' of our trip to Jean's farm! I'll be back early next week and hopefully have a recipe or two made from the dozens of tomatillos that Jean so graciously given to us! I'll also tell you all about Jean's orchids and post a lot more beautiful pics! Thank you again, Jean and bye for now!

Ontario Garden Chili with Quinoa, Gluten Free

Next to jazz music, there is nothing that lifts the spirit and strengthens the soul more than a good bowl of chili." Harry James

Hiya followers! If you live anywhere close to Georgetown, Ontario, make sure to check out my website and sign up to one of my cooking demonstrations! You can either come out to The Carter Farm Market located in Norval, Ontario, or I will come out to your house for a private demo!

www.sarahsculinaryadventure.com

 

 

Well, I wasn't exaggerating last week when I said I had a plethora of tomatoes and this week I found I had even more, along with a tonne of other local veggies! Fortunately I managed to blanch and freeze all of my excess tomatoes, leaving my freezer stacked for winter. Now, don't get me wrong, I love all this wonderful produce and I happily except any homegrown goods that are offered to me, but combined with the spoils of my own garden, I've got a lot! All I need to do now is to figure out how to use them all up! A great way to do this is to poke around the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what other ingredients you have on hand, then get creative! My own search turned up a tin of beans, some quinoa and spices. This could only mean one thing: chili! So, I got out a big pot and got started!

 

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

 

Ontario Garden Chili with Quinoa, Gluten Free

(serves 6 to 8)

 

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed, any colour (I used red and white)

1 cup cold water

Pinch of Sea Salt

 

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cups garden vegetables, chopped into bite size pieces

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp + 1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped + 1/2 cup water

or

1 x 796 ml tin tomatoes, whole and chopped or diced

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 x 540 ml tin beans, drained and rinsed (I used red kidney)

 

Place the quinoa, water and a pinch of salt into a small pot. Turn the heat onto high and allow the quinoa to come up to the boil. Turn down to low, cover with a lid and allow to simmer for about 15 to 20mins until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Set aside.

Pour the oil into a large pot and heat on medium high. Add in the onions and the 4 cups of chopped veggies with a pinch of salt and pepper, stir. Continue to stir for about 4 to 5 mins, until the onions are soft. Next, toss in the garlic, spices and tomato paste, stir for another minute. Add in the tomatoes, turn the heat down to medium low and simmer, partially covered with a lid. Stir occasionally and cook the chili for about 20 mins, until the veggies are tender. Stir in the beans and quinoa and cook for about 5 mins more, until they are heated through. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate to serve the next day. Enjoy!

This chili turned out delish and how quick and easy is it to make?! The veggies I used were a combo of peppers, zucchini, celery, carrots and sweet potatoes. All locally grown and amazing. Yum! Now, if you want a bit of heat, you could add in a chopped jalapeno or a chipotle pepper. You can also serve your chili with a variety of garnishes, on the side, I like plain yogurt, grated sharp cheese and finely chopped scallions. Delicious!

 

Now followers, tomorrow I will back with a special blog! My sweetie Kev and I were recently invited to fab farm to check out a plentiful garden and a greenhouse full of orchids! I don't want to give away too much, so I will cut myself off now and I'll tell you all about it tomorrow! Bye for now!