Beet it ;)

I had the very good fortune to receive a bundle of wonderful summer veg today from Stonelane Orchard - they sell their pesticide-free produce at local market gardens; including the St. Norbert Market.

Among the lush kale, chard, tomatoes, peas and so on, was a spectacular, large bunch of red beets with perfect leaves. I said to Stonelane co-owner, Rick, "OMG, these are the most beautiful beets I have ever seen!" and he remarked, simply "Our beets always look like this." Too cute - nice to know that vegetable heaven can be enjoyed here on Earth - at least through the short summer growing season! Needless to say, I was inspired and I couldn't wait to get home and start cooking. I surfed the net for a short while, wondering if I could find something new and exciting, but my tastebuds were yearning for some traditional Russian favourites: borscht and beet leaf rolls (holuptsi)

As things got underway in the kitchen, my daughters began swarming - wondering when the soup would be ready. Nice to be popular- if only for sustainance LOL.

I make my borscht using chicken or vegetable broth, preferring this to the pork-based version my German mother makes (sorry, Mom - just not a pork fan...). Here are the recipes for Beet Rolls and Borcht - I hope you will try the recipes and enjoy some local beets in season.

Pam's Russian Borcht

INGREDIENTS:
Large bunch beets with greens, 6-8 medium-size beets
1 medium onion, chopped finely
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups chopped kale or cabbage
1.5 tsp. salt
Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
3 tsp. sour salt, or to taste
8 bay leaves, or to taste
2 cups diced carrot
1 large tomato, diced
2 cups diced new potatoes
1 can baked beans in tomato sauce
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

METHOD:
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot, stirring in the onions. Cook onions until clear, but don't brown. Stir in salt, pepper, tomatoes, carrot and potatoes, along with 1/3 of the broth. Cook 15 - 20 minutes. Meanwhile grate the beets and chop the leaves and stems finely - add these to the soup, along with the remaining broth, beans, dill and sour salt. Simmer for 45 minutes and serve hot with a dollop of sour cream or natural yogurt.

Beet Leaf Rolls

INGREDIENTS:
36 large beet leaves, washed and trimmed
1 tsp. salt
Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh dill, minced
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/3 cup butter (approximate), divided use
1/2 cup 18% cream

Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add in salt, rice and 2 cups of water - cook rice, covered for 40-45 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the onion in another 3Tbsp. of the butter. Stir softened onion into the cooked rice along with pepper and dill, to form the beet roll filling. Rice the leaves and cut off any tough ribs. Place leaves in a colander and blanche by pouring 1.5 litres of boiling water over them - leaves should be softened but not mushy. Spoon 2-3 teaspoons of filling on each leaf and roll tightly, pushing in each end with fingertips to seal. Butter a small baking dish with 2 tsp. of the butter. Place rolls with seam down in the casserole dish. Pour cream over all. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for 30 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Serve warm with or without sour cream or natural yogurt.

NOTE: if the leaves are too small or tattered, or if you are pressed for time, try making a lasagne-style casserole, beginning with a layer of the softened beet leaves and then a thin layer of filling; repeat. End with a leaf layer and pour cream over all. Bake for same amount of time.

Strawberry Heaven

My Mom loves to go strawberry picking - usually it is a weekend outing, involving a 45 minute drive to her favourite U-Pick farm. There are many farms that are closer, but she prefers two of the province's largest farms (which happen to be the furthest from our homes!), and although we always enjoy the outing - let's just say that it's not exactly a cost-effective undertaking!

When my girls were small I remember them "helping" and coming home with strawberry fun covering all of their clothes. One year, my daughter, Dior actually fell asleep in the strawberry patch - she had picked a 4 litre pail, filled her tummy with fruit and expired, exhausted by the experience - dear little girl!

This year, we went on a Monday in the late afternoon - it turned out that the weekend was too busy for us both! The result was great and I think a new tradition has been born - the farm was not crowded, berries were just as plentiful, and it was much cooler in the evening.
The only thing I missed was popping a sun-heated plump berry into my mouth - something about the warm berries in the sunshine; they just burst into your taste buds! However, I did plenty of "quality control" tasting in the field :)

A few years ago I started making freezer jam for my kids - they always liked Grandma's so much and I thought it was time that I learned to make it. This evolved into making the low sugar recipe, and then to the sugar-free recipe. The first time I made the sugar-free version I was concerned that the kids would hate it and it would be wasted! Boy was I wrong - it has been a huge hit! Here is the recipe - the consistency is like a thick syrup. You may wish to stir some into plain yogurt or use it as a waffle or ice cream topping - tart and fresh tasting and good for the waistline. Hope you will try it and enjoy it - very easy to make too :)

Sugar-Free Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and mashed
4 tsp. Splenda
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
I box Certo brand powdered pectin

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boiling point and boil for one minute; then remove from heat and stir for two minutes. Ladle jam into clean plastic or glass containers, cover tightly with lids and allow to cool to room temperature. Place cooled containers in freezer. Freezes well for 9 - 10 months in deep freeze or for 3 months in a refrigerator freezer. I quadruple the recipe and make two batches - 32 cups of berries yield twelve of the 2-1/2 cup sized plastic containers of jam.

New Summer Classic!

We've been enjoying some sultry summer temps - you hear a few muffled complaints about the heat and humidity, but most of us are pretty careful not to gripe too much... a few weeks and our glorious summer will be on its way out the door and we'll be hunkering down for one of our famous, drawn out prairie winters!

My latest fav summer dessert is so easy you will not believe it - GRILLED PEACHES! I have enjoyed grilled pineapple, but never had tasted grilled peaches until very recently when one of my dearest friends served them at her daughter's post-convocation party. I always feel simplicity is best in life and in food - you want to enjoy the honest flavours of fresh, quality ingredients versus overly-fussy concoctions -- that's just a given:)

Here's how it was done at my friends' BBQ ... hope you will try and enjoy. After sampling the grilled peaches, I am thinking that kabobs with teriyaki-marinated pork or chicken; along with peaches, pineapple, mushrooms and sweet bell peppers would make a killer combo (do you sense a culinary sequel???)!

Gail's Yummy Grilled Peaches

Ingredients
6 large peaches, halved and pitted
2 litre brick of vanilla ice cream
Smucker's caramel sundae sauce (or Starbucks caramel sauce)

Place peaches cut side down on a hot grill for 3-5 minutes, turn and grill the back side for an additional 3-5 minutes - watch carefully, as the finished product should have light grill marks, but should not be charred. Consistency is tender to the fork, but with firmness - not mushy!

Set grilled peaches aside to cool slightly while you slice the brick ice cream into squares. Place one or two peach halves cut side up on the ice cream, drizzle with caramel sauce and serve. YUM! Like pie without the heaviness - just a little piece of heaven for your taste buds xo!